The Princess' Knight
by Masked Doll Victoria
Summary: An AU fic. At the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War, Kiritsugi Emiya sacrifices himself to save his beloved wife. Finding herself all alone in the world, Irisviel finds herself drawn closer to her husband's former servant. Irisviel/Saber. Revised/edited 10/7/12
1. War's End

_10 years ago, Fuyuki City, Shinto district _

The war was over. After two weeks of blood shed and death the fourth Heaven's Feel had finally come to an end. In the end conflict between mankind's greatest heroes and their masters had met with a rather abrupt end. As Arturia, the once and future king of Britain, and Gilgamesh, the Hero King of ancient Babylon, clashed amid the concrete streets and decade old buildings of a town that stood on the thin line that separates the magical past and mundane present. As steel and flesh met it seemed as if the conflict would never end, neither hero would back down, leading to an unbreakable stalemate in which neither combatant could gain the ground necessary to destroy their eternal rival, and here, amid the chaos of battle, a man of the cloth made known his darkest wish; to see the birth of a being that embodied absolute darkness and was free of light and goodness. The chaos entwined in such a whim tore the earth asunder and encircled the town in a torrent of flames that consumed the lives of more innocent souls then could ever be known to the mind of man.

It was among the crimson sea that two women frantically search for any signs of life amid the chaos. Irisviel, clad in a coat of purest white and with eyes aglow with a color as deep as the flames dancing around her, cried at the top of her lungs as she searched for those who may have succumbed to the disaster manifest of the magic of the so-called "Holy Grail". "Darling!" She yelled to the heavens. "Are you there! Are you all right?" The man for whom her anguished cries were meant was one Kiritsugu Emiya, a black-haired magus whom the snowy haired homunculus called her lover and husband.

However, there would be no answer to Irisviel's cries, as Kiritsugu had just a short time before sacrificed himself so that his beloved may live, giving his life over to the divine vessel of magic over which the Heaven's Feel was fought, Kiritugu had damned himself in exchange for Irisviel's freedom. Though it took nearly twenty minutes of searching, the truth finally found home in Irisviel's ear's as her servant finally returned to her side, her sad eyes and quivering lip, a tell sign of the horrible news that lay deeply on her mind and soul. "My master, we must leave as soon as possible. I can no longer feel Kiritugu's mana..." The servant known to most simply as Saber, tried her best to soften the blow of such information by speaking in a matter-of-fact way as possible. Though she had never liked him all that much nor found any part of his personality appealing, Arturia knew very well how much Kiritsugu meant to her Irisviel.

"He's dead...?" Irisviel stuttered. Though she knew the risk her husband had taken in trying to claim the Grail, that he had died doing so came as a shock. She simply could not bear the reality of the situation, as her eyes filled to the brim with tears and her knees began to quivered with a mixture of fear and disbelief, she dropped to the ground. Sobbing endlessly over her fallen love. But, as Arturia had so plainly stated, now was no time to dawdle. If they stayed here anyy longer they to would join Kiritsugu in sliding off the mortal coil. Knowing her master's wife was likely unable to move of her own accord, Arturia gently hoisted her charge into her arms and, summoning all her strength, made a mad-dash through fire and debris, all in the name of saving what remained of her master's family. As Saber dodged over, around, and, through the various obstacles dotting the blazing city, a faint noise reached the ears of the young woman resting in her arms. "Saber, can you hear that?" Irisviel sniffled.

"I can hear many things, my lady. You will have to be more specific."

"It sounds like a child is crying..." Irisviel's mind spun from thoughts of loss to ones of urgency, so many had likely died in this mess. If she could save but one person from this living hell, it would mean Kiritsugu's sacrifice was not in vain. "I want to see where it is coming from..." Though it was far from safe, Arturia knew that her charge would not change her mind once in she resolve to do something.

"Very well, my lady." Saber, her hearing many times better greater than a normal human, finally picked up on the cry of a child not far from the spot where she presently stood. The child in question lay sprawled upon the rubble of a fallen apartment complex, his clothes ripped and burned, his face worn and tired, his reddish-brown hair burnt by stray embers. Looking as if on the verge of death, his glassy expression longed for an end to his seemingly eternal torment. Neither knight nor homunculus remained calm in the face of such injustice, a youth cut short by the selfish conflicts of adults. Irisviel, motioning for her loyal knight to put her down, walked up to the small child, gently wiped the soot from his expressionless face, and mustered all her strength to show him a smile. Silently, she swore she would save this child no matter what it took.

"Everything will be all right, we just have to get out of this place as soon as possible." The boy was in no condition to argue and simply nodded in response to Irisviel's statement. "Saber, we must bring this child with us." Irisviel spoke upon returning to her feet from a kneeling position. "If we he is left here he will likely die, speaking in my beloved's steed I ask that we take this poor child with us." Again, Saber knew better then to argue with her former master's headstrong wife and, without a single word, scooped up the nameless body and motioned for Irisviel to follow her once more. Then, with child and homunculus in tow, the Knights finally led escaped the conflagration that had claimed the lives and dreams of so many poor souls.

*********************************************************************************************************************************************************  
>The first order of the waning day for the pair was to give the poor child nestled in Arturia's arms with a measure of medical attention. However, his wounds, grievous as they were, would soon claim his life, rendering the best intentions of Irisiviel and Arturia a moot point. Both women knew this was true and communicated such sentiments to one another in a series of silent gazes that radiated an intense aura of sadness and frustration. "There has must be a way to save him!" Irisviel shouted, finally breaking the silence between them.<p>

"I am sorry...No amount of medical care, no matter how advance, can reverse the damage done to this child." Saber spoke in a stoic way.

"Then what about magical healing? We could use Avalon to save him like Kiritsugu used it to protect me!" Saber knew that such an action would be more than enough to save the red-haired child. But it would also mean deliberately putting her master's wife into danger. Reconciling such matters were difficult, even for someone used to the pressure of matters of life and death.

"We could do that, my lady. But doing so would put your own life in danger. Is this child really worth such sacrifice?"

"Yes! This poor boy is like this because of OUR actions. If this war hadn't happened he would still be living happily with his family. Saving this child is the least we can do to atone for all of this..." Irisviel lay on the verge of tears once more, straining to hold back the torrent of emotions threatening to engulf her psyche. Arturia, could not argue against such sentiments. Her own inability to defeat the King of Heroes had caused all of this. Though saving this child would not make up for all that had happened, it was the least they could do.

"As you wish. Concentrate on Avalon's magical essence and will it into this boy..." As Arturia's words dissipated, Irisviel did as instructed; heaping all her thoughts upon the magical sheath buried deep in her artificial body. Planted within her body by her beloved to ensure her safety throughout the ravages of the Heaven's Feel, the scabbard that once held the holy blade Excalibur bestowed upon its wielder a powerful regenerative force that was capable of overcoming even the most terrible of wounds. Steeped in blue and gold, the image of the artifact known to some as the "Ever Distant Utopia", a reflection of Arturia's hope for a peaceful future for herself and her nation, the image of Avalon formed ever clearer within Irisiviel's mind. Then after meditating upon its glorious form for several minutes, the nearly endless mana within her body helped to expel the magical artifact from her body as per Saber's instruction.

Taking her blade's home in hand, Arturia contemplated the object for a moment before going about her appointed role. To the King of Knights, Avalon had been the literal physical manifestation of a seemingly unreachable dream that she had chased since her youth as a squire in the service of her father's most loyal knight. In the recent past, however, it had taken on a new meaning, a symbol of not only her dreams but that of her master and his wife as well. A dream to see their little family thrive even in the face of the unusual circumstances that perpetually stalked the Einzbern family. It was this dream that then motivated Saber to end her contemplation and implant the magical artifact deep within the child resting in her arms. In a flash of light, the sheath disappeared from Saber's hand, causing Irisviel to let out a sigh of relief at the safety of the child had finally been ensured. Saber, meanwhile, let loose a similar noise. Happy to see her charge free of the dark emotions that had surrounded her during the conflagration they had just escaped.  
>"All right then!" Irisviel said clapping her hands together in a joyful way. "Now that all of this is settled we should get this little guy to the hospital!" Saber responded with a nod as she followed her all to excited partner towards Fuyuki General Hospital.<p>

Florescent lights reflected from green tile floors as a small swarm of doctors and nurses encircled the small child resting upon the stainless steel operating table that dominated the examination room's center. As they analyzed the child's every possible vital sign and reading, a single truth emerged among the many numbers and figures such a battery of tests tended to invoke: despite being bruised, burned, and glassy-eyed the child would be alright. Though none suspected that a magical artifact was responsible for their patient's miraculous recovery.

Meanwhile, as medical professionals tended to the rescued child, Irisviel and Arturia tended to other matters in the hospital's waiting room. There was a nervous air to the situation, as both master and servant knew one final matter lay at hand. Without her master, and his mana, Saber would soon disappear from this world and return to the Throne of Heroes, as all Heroic Souls did upon the loss of their master or the end of a Grail War. Aturia was ready for just this moment and more than ready to leave the scarred land of Fuyuki City behind forever. However, Irisviel, having lost her daughter to a family that would only use her as a tool and her husband to a war she had regretted ever taking part in, was far from ready for Arturia, the last person in all the world who truly understood her, to abscond from the waking world so soon. Shooting her Saber a longing, nearly tearful, glance Irisviel did her best to convey her in her gaze emotions her lips that could not place. "With Kiritsugi gone I will not be long for this world, my lady. Will you be all right without me?" The question was unnecessary, as the Saber-class heroine knew all to well what thoughts lie silently in her lady's mind.

"NO!" Irisviel shouted at the top of her lungs I won't all right with if you leave! I've lost my husband and daughter in the past few weeks! You're the only one I have left. If you leave I don't know what I'll do..." As Irisviel again let her emotions flow forth freely in the form of tears and sniffles, Arturia, her guardian and constant companion in the Grail War, couldn't help but embrace her princess-like charge.

"Things will be all right. You are a strong woman and have proven many times over that you are quite capable of taking care of yourself. But..." Saber said as she gazed into Irisviel's nearly bloodshot eyes. "If you are that adamant in this matter, I will stay by your side as long as you may need me." Though far from a common act, it was quite capable for a servant to stay in the mortal realm long after the Grail War had ended, provided they could forge a contract with a magus of sufficient power and mana. Such knowledge in her heart, Irisviel's eyes sparkled and her heart raced as such a prospect. With all the loss, suffering, and fear that had gripped her very soul these past two weeks, the news that Saber would stay at her side was a source of endless comfort and happiness. All that was left was to form a contract between them, and to replaced the one that had been severed with Kiritsugi's untimely pass. Contracts were often bound by utterance of a series of words formulated long ago to bond a servant to their master and the modern world where they lived. Irisviel had known these words well, having bore witness to Aturia's summoning by the hand of her fallen husband, and, taking Arturia's hands and pressing her forehead against that of the King of Knights began to recite aloud the ancient incantation.

"Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone. The ancestor is my great master Schweinorg.  
>The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate.<br>Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill).  
>Repeat every five times.<br>Simply, shatter once filled.  
>I announce.<br>Your self is under me, my fate is in your sword.  
>In accordance with the resort of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer.<br>Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead, I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead.  
>You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance !"<p>

"I accept, my lady." Saber said with a loving smile meant to comfort her new master. Irisiviel, in turn, her reason overwhelmed by all that she felt at the moment, gazed once more at her newly-minted servant's eyes, before tightening her arms around her waist and then placing her lips upon Arturia's unadorned mouth, kissing her in the heat of the emotionally charged moment. The lip-lock only lasted for a moment however, as Saber soon pulled herself from the embrace, a look of suprise and confusion firmly plastered across her regal visage. "What are you doing, Irisviel?" Arturia spoke in an exaggerated manner, while her face burned an intense shade of red.

Irisviel, finally freed from the dream-like stated placed upon her by Arturia's admission of wishing to stay, blushed profoundly upon finally realizing what she had just done and distanced herself from Arturia out of embarrassment for what she had done. In her servants embrace, their eyes locked in a loving gaze, her head pressed against that of her knight and guardian. Irisiviel's heart conveyed to her body an action which her mind could not comprehend. She knew not why she kissed the blond woman, but it felt, in that moment, to be the right thing to do. "I...I don't know!" She mumbled under her breath. "I wasn't thinking straight, I swear..." Unable to find any more reason for her actions, Irisviel quickly turned the subject at hand to other matters. "But, at least our contract is sealed now!" She covering her blazing red cheeks with her hands.

And thus the waiting room was silent once more, though the air was filled with more of an awkward glaze then the cloud of seriousness that had filled the space between them just moments before.


	2. Mother and Son

Minutes passed as Irisviel and her servant sat nervously on either end of the hospital's waiting room. Just a half-hour before, the pair had shared an unexpected kiss that left all involved grasping at straws at any reason such a thing could happen. Irisviel had claimed that she was simply caught in the moment, though, she knew in her heart, that simply was not was far more behind that passion filled kiss than she would ever care to admit to anyone, even herself. And thus, unable to express the meaning behind the oral embrace, Irisivel sat in silence, a perpetual haze of crimson dotting her pale skin.

Saber, meanwhile, lingered more in confusion then embarrassment. The relationship she shared with the elder Einzbern was that of master and servant or knight and princess, relationships that harbored very little in the way of physical affections, and even when they did such acts were confined to a kiss on the hand or other such courtly rites A kiss, especially one placed every so carefully on the lips as Irisviel had done, were meant for lovers and were completely inappropriate for those in any other kind of relationship. Saber thought over and over silently in her head. If Irisviel desired such a relationship... Saber quickly shook her head of such thoughts as her face began to flow the same color as her master's. Such lines of thought could only lead to ruin, Saber rationalized, as she locked such ideas in the deepest depths of her mind.

The silence, heavy as the fog of a spring morning, was only broken when one of the nurses who had been looking over the small child Irisviel had rescued the Grail fire entered the room while clutching a clipboard closely to her chest. "You two are the ones who brought in the young boy, correct?" The nurse spoke while flipping through the endless pile of documents laying at hand.

"You've got it!" Irisviel nearly shouted in a vaguely awkward way. "We were trying to escape the fire ourselves, but I couldn't live with myself if I didn't do something to help him." Irisiviel did her best to smile through the mixture of loss, confusion, and embarrassment presently stalking her waking mind. "Is he doing all right?" She questioned as if trying to pass the focus of the conversation away from herself.

"Little Shirou is doing fine. Though, frankly, the doctors thought he wasn't going to make it for a small while there." The nurse said with a genuine smile. "He is a very lucky child to be as well off as he is." While the medical professionals of Fuyuki General Hospital had attributed Shirou's survival to the fact that Irisviel had found him so soon after the fire's out break, they could not possibly know that the true source of his near miraculous recovery was the scabbard of the King of Knights. "It's likely his parents die in that terrible blaze, I imagine he will be placed with the other orphans when all is said and done." The nurse then turned to leave, offering a last thanks to Irisviel and Saber as she walked from the room. Irisviel, however, was not done and spoke a last missive in a voice of the utmost seriousness.

"If you don't mind, I would like to begin the process of adopting Shirou. If that is possible, of course." Though the idea had come to Irisviel on the spur of the moment and formed of mixture of an intense desire to rebuild her shattered family and to give a better life to the poor child she had personally rescued from the grail-fueled conflagration. Saber, who was standing at Irisviel's side the entire time, was more than a bit shocked at her master's request, but not by her resolve. Much like that of her husband, Irisviel's will was nearly unbreakable and if she put her mind to something she would do anything it took to make her goal a reality.

"Of course, I will send the necessary paper work as soon as possible. For now would you like to see the child? I imagine he would like to meet the women who saved his life." The nurse finally left the waiting room, motioning for master and servant to follow as well. After walking through the florescent-lit halls of the hospital for a moment, Irisviel and Saber found the child in question laying in a typical hospital bed with green sheet. His cuts cleaned and bandaged and his torn clothes replaced with a simple hospital gown. In all, he looked far better than he had mere hours before, a fact owed all most completely to the mystical artifact residing in his small body. The sight of Shirou alive and well filled Irisviel's heart with a mixture of hope and joy, a feeling very much like what she had felt the during the winter days she spent with her precious daughter Illya.

"Hello, Shirou." Irisviel spoke in a melodic tone. "My name is Irisviel, but you can just call me Iiri if you can't pronounce it." The Homunculus giggled for the first time since the chaos of the previous night. "I know this is sudden, and you don't have to answer me now, but I would like to be your mother if you would have me." Shirou, the small, red-haired, child who had clung to death not so long ago and still silent from the chaos of the horrors he had saw, simply nodded, knowing all to well what had happened to his parents. Irisviel couldn't help herself but cry at Shirou's admission, if anything good could come of this terrible incident, she thought, her husband's sacrifice would not have been in vain. "May I talk to Shirou for a while longer?" Irisviel spoke while doing little hold back the happy tears flowing forth from her eyes. The attending nurse nodded in response, leaving the room to give a child and his prospective mother a few moments alone.

Irisviel then ran her hand through the child's hair while she conveyed her intentions in a loving gaze. Shirou, in turn, offered no complaint to her offer. He could tell from Irisviel's words and actions that she meant every word that she said. If anyone were to be his new mother, he would be more than happy be with with the slightly strange, snowy-haired, woman sitting beside him. "All right then!" Irisviel spoke while placing her hands together in a joyful pose. "It will be a bit before I can sort out all the paperwork, but we'll be together soon, all right? Stay strong till then, little Shirou!" The energetic happiness that usually formed the basis of Irisviel's personality had finally returned, unleashed from the shackles of grief by her hope for a better future for herself and the small child she hoped to soon call her own. Hugging Shirou for good measure, Irisviel and her dutiful Saber made their way to the hospital entrance,bidding the attending staff goodbye along the way. Outside, Saber, having stood silent as Irisviel spoke heartfelt words to Shirou, finally voiced her opinion on the subject at hand.

"How do you intend to care for that child, my lady?" Saber spoke in serious tone. "We don't even know where we will be living at the moment, I don't think you dwell on such matters until we have a permanent place to live." Saber was held no malice against her master, but rather this was a matter of pragmatism. If her master could not provide for herself, how could she do the same for a young child.

"Don't worry, Saber~" Irisviel said while taking a pose that one could easily imagine being accompanied with a magical sparkle. "That manor in the old part of town is ours to do with as we wish, we'll just live there for the time being! Its big and roomy, perfect for raising a boy. And money won't an issue either, a family as old as mine doesn't get where it is today without making their fair share of money." Irisviel was supremely confident that everything would work out for the best and her smile spoke volumes on the subject that would take hours for her lips to communicate.

"All right, but how do I fit into all of this?" Saber questioned, her arms firmly crossed upon her chest.

"Simple, you're going to help me raise him! You were a king, right? You ruled an entire nation! So I think a small boy will be no problem." Irisviel spoke in a confident manner. "Besides, I don't think it would hurt a child to have two mothers..." After a moment, Irisviel's joyous enthusiasm was soon stained with several shades of red as she suddenly realized the implications of her words.

"As you wish, my lady." Saber was not going to argue with her master, she lived for her word and command. Even if it meant raising a child, she would not stray from Irisviel's side. That she accepted, was simply how things would be from now on. "It seems the matter is settled, shall we take a cab home?" Saber said while offering a gloved hand to her master.

"Lets." Irisviel said simply as she gently took her servant's hand.


	3. Home Sweet Home

The Emiya manor lay on the old side of town where traditional Japanese buildings lay intermixed with the conveniences of the modern world. The manor itself was more the former then the later, encompassing a large courtyard, small shed, and a sprawling, Japanese-style, home that would be the envy of any prospective homeowner. It was into the unkempt courtyard that the Irisviel and Saber arrived after their short cab ride. The pair were more than familar with their new surroundings, having stayed there for a short while during the Grail War as Kiritsugi went about his behind the scenes "work." Irisviel, exhausted from her endless trek through fire and quake, ran through the grand building's front door, a deep look of relief painted against the stark contrast of her alabaster face. Her servant followed behind, keeping careful watch of her master. "We're home, Saber!" Irisviel yelled, her hands raised towards the heavens. Though a bit run down and smelling of ages of rot and decay, the manor was a welcome calm in what had otherwise been a tumultuous night. The ability to sit, to think, to while away the time without fear was a luxury the snow-haired had taken for granted in the past. And,after the events of the last day, she would never do so again.

After taking her new home in once more, Irisviel finally settled on the manor's back porch, a small wooden platform jutting directly into the backyard. Sitting there one could view of the night sky that lay untouched by the artificial lighting that plagued much of Fuyuki City. Irisviel, finding the view rather breathtaking, sat under the starry sky with a sense of wonder most humans only experienced as children. Enthralled by the celestial bodies swirling overhead, she beckoned for her servant to follow suit and take in the wonders of the city at night. "It is quite a view, isn't it?" Saber uttered as she took a seat beside her master. "But do you not think we head to bed soon? I cannot imagine either of us are in any shape to lie awake any longer." Saber's concern for her master was earnest, she has watched over her for so long it was only natural that she had become personally invested in Irisviel's welling being. Irisviel, in turn, flailed like a small child wishing to stay up beyond their bed time.

"I don't want to!" Irisviel pouted. Though her mouth may have said such things; her body conveyed an entirely different message. "I just want to sort out a few things before we go to sleep..." Irisiviel said with a sigh, the events of the past day finally catching up with her.

"What is on your mind, my lady? We have secured shelter, I can think of nothing else that requires are immigrate attention." Saber, pragmatic as ever, sometimes had issues understanding her master's less logical appeals.

"Well, there is the matter of little Shirou." Irisviel spoke in a wistful way, her eyes affixed firmly on the stars above. "I fully intend to act as his mother from now on and..." Irisviel's gaze moved from the heaven's to her servant's confused face while, in the same moment, she intertwined her fingers ever so gently with that of the King of Knights. "And I'd like for you to do the same. I know it is quite alot to ask. But I really do think Shirou would be much happier if we both pitch in." Saber was by no means baffled by her master's request, as they had discussed a similar sentiment as they left the hospital. It was the way she said it that truly effected her psyche the most. Sitting here, hands entwined, under the night sky, left an odd and unexplainable feeling in Arturia's heart. It was by no means a bad feeling, but rather one she had never experienced in all her years as a servant, knight, and king. For now, she buried such feelings and attempted to answer her master on an entirely practical level.

"If you truly wish to act as this child's parent, it was negligent of me to simply standby and do nothing to give. In that capacity, I have no issue with the plan as you have suggested it." Saber said. "Though, I must ask you to refrain from referring to me as the Shirou's mother. As I do believe that caregiver or guardian would be a more proper term for my role in all of this." Irisviel's heart sank a small bit as Saber spoke. She had hoped they could share the title and be equal partners in all of this. For now, she would not fuss or raise the issue any farther. The fact that Saber had agreed to help at all was more then she could have ever hoped for.

"Great! I guess that will make you his nanny!." Irisviel said with a smile while Saber grimaced ever so slightly. "I guess this means I'll finally have to learn to cook and do the laundry to. But it will all be worth it to see Shirou's smiling face." Irisviel's enthusiasm masked an ingrained sadness. Her own daughter still lay in her homeland with a family who cared nothing for her beyond her use as a vessel for the Grail. Someday, she silently swore, she would take Saber and reclaim her little girl. But, for now, that would have to wait. Before she could even think of helping her precious Illya, she would have to first help herself and the rest of her makeshift family. It would be best, after all, if Illya had a stable home to come back to. For now, here, in this old house with an adopted child and centuries old servant, she would forge ahead in the best way she could. "I imagine that is all I wanted to say tonight, Saber. Let's figure out where everyone is sleeping and call it a night."

"Very well, though I must insist we sleep in the same room at the very least. If anything were to happen to you it would be in your best interest to keep the distance between us as small as possible." Though Saber reasoning for such a request was entirely pragmatic in nature, it nonetheless caused her master to blush every so slightly.

"If you insist, Saber..." Irisviel trailed off as she led her servant to what would soon become their shared sleeping quarters A small room fitted with several traditional Japanese paper screens, the room was just big enough to hold the two adult women. "There are some futons in the hall closet, could you go get them for me?" With a nod Saber went about her appointed duty, soon returning with the items in questions. Promptly setting both on the floor almost perfectly parallel to one another, Saber quickly chose the left most futon as her own. Irisviel in turn quickly tucked herself into her own futon, yawned, and offered one last statement before drifting once more into the land of dreams. "Everything will be all right, right Saber? Irisviel spoke between yawns.

"I think it will, my lady. The war is over and those we called are enemies are no longer of this world." Saber spoke in a reassuring manner. "Soon Shirou will join us and I imagine we all will be far to busy to worry about anything else." In truth, Saber knew their future was entirely uncertain. As homunculus who should been burned as fuel for the Holy Grail and a Servant who should have disappeared at war's end, they were both specters who by all means should not exist in this world. But yet, here they were alive and well.. They both had survived against all odds and, Saber hoped, they would continue to survive for the sake of all those who had died so they may live.

"Well then," Irisviel said. "Good night, Saber." Irisviel closed her eyes, her servant's words reassured her for the time being. Falling asleep as soon as her eyes closed and her head found home in her pillow, Irisviel felt free of the burden of the recent past, at least for one night. Saber, looking at her once more before she to drifted off to sleep, also felt relief that her master felt free for the time being.

"Good night, my lady." She echoed before joining her master in the night's sweet embrace.


	4. Girl's Night In

*8 months later*

The King of Knights gazed at herself in the mirror with a sense of disgust manifesting heavily within her mind. Reflecting back at her was her own image dressed in a loose, black, top, jeans, and thigh high boots. The outfit had been Irisviel's idea, her attempt to make Saber, in her own words, "look more feminine." While her master found her new clothing adorable, Saber herself felt foolish. Such clothing were useless in a combat situation and hampered her movement in a way that would mean death on the battle field. Grumbling, the blond-haired servant poked her head out of the dressing room door and called for her master. "Irisviel..." Saber spoke in a droll way. "Please come here and judge the appearence of the outfit you have chosen for me. The snowy-haired homunculus, her mind and heart filled with girlish glee, skipped to her servant's side and took a single look at the clothing now hanging from the back of her servant. The shirt fit well, hanging from Saber's lithe from in an appealing way while her jeans served to stress the few curves Saber did have. Irisviel quickly uttered a loud squeal of approval towards Saber's new outfit.

"You look adorable!" she nearly shouted. "It's so much better than those dull suits your always wearing." Saber merely hung her in head in dejection. Despite her protests over the course of the pair's day of shopping, Saber very well knew there was little chance she would return home today without a large pile of clothing that suited her master's taste more than her own. "And don't be so mopey. This was our deal." Irisviel pointed out, recalling the bargain she had struck with her servant that morning. In exchange for being able to choose Saber's casual wear, the King of Knights would be allowed to keep the suits she had worn during her tenure as Kiritsugi's servant for formal occasions and business matters. "Besides, you're a girl with a great body, Saber. You should show off once in a while." Irisviel explained as she paid for the clothing that had, just moments before, clung to Saber's small body.

"Show off for whom, my lady?" Saber questioned in retort while dressed her favorite black suit.

"For the boys, of course! You're a girl, Saber, don't you ever think of romance or anything like that?" Irisviel began placing the various boxes containing Saber's new wardrobe into a large bag in preparation for hauling them home. "Your very attractive, intelligent, and kind. Anyone would be lucky to say you were there girlfriend." All of this talk seemed to merely annoy the King of Knights.

"I have no time for such niceties. My only duty in this world is as your and Shirou's guardian. Any other task I may take up could endanger the both of you." Straight forward as always, Irisviel's heart sank into her chest as Saber's words passed through her ears. Though she could not explain why, such words filled her maiden's heart with a stinging sorrow.

"If you say so, Saber. But I'm pretty sure you'll change your tone if you meet the right person." Irisviel poked at her servant in jest as she carried the small mountain of boxes containing the days purchases to the waiting taxi.

"Do you know of such a person? If so I am afraid I must tell them that I could not accept their feelings." Irisviel felt as if a nail was driven into her heart. Saber was the person closest -living- person to Irisviel's heart at the moment, to hear her speaking so dismissively of the emotion that had let her experience the joy of friends and family was soul wrenching.

Holding her hand to her quickly beating heart as she entered the yellow car before her, Irisviel teared up a bit. "I hope you will at least make an exception for Shirou." Irisviel spoke with her eyes closed to the world around her. "He will need all the love we both can muster."

"My lady..." Saber may have come across as unfeeling and cold at times but, in her heart of hearts, she cared deeply for her master. They had spent nearly the entirety of the Holy Grail War together, getting to know each others every minor habit, thought, and ideal. While her true master lay out of the picture, plotting the bloody end of his fellow masters, Irisviel had been at her side through thick and thin. Through that experience, and the devastating loss that came about as a result of the same experience, Saber could never imagine leaving her new master or in any way making her sad.

In time, Irisviel had slowly become the person closest to Saber's heart as well. It was an odd feeling for someone who had spent most of their life in the role of king, a title that required one to stand impersonal and distant. To be living so closely to a single person was strange to say the least. "I am sincerely sorry if I have offended you, I meant no harm." Saber smiled from behind the immense pile of boxes resting at her feet and on her lap. "You know that I care for you above all others and, as your servant, I would do anything if it meant your happiness. In time I imagine I will be able to say the same of Shirou as well." Irisviel blushed and her heart raced. She had, for a moment as Saber spoke, felt the same warmth she had when she and Kiritsugu had begun dating all those years ago.

"Thank you, Saber..." Irisviel spoke in a meek tone. "That is all I wished to hear." The yellow cab soon found its way to the Emiya Manor, leaving master and servant to unload the day's haul. Tipping her driver, Irisviel and Saber would find themselves sitting in front of the dining room's woefully out of date television while they both recovered from a day on their feet. What images droned endlessly from the black box sitting on an equally decrepit stand didn't matter, master and servant simply sat in harmony. Enjoying the quiet time of an evening together. "You know we won't be able to sit like this for much longer, Saber." Irisviel said with a smile directed at her partner in crime.

"Why is that?" Saber wondered.

"Because Shirou will be moving in with us soon, silly!" Irisviel made a point to emphasize the obvious, to her at least, nature of the statement.

"Of course. I look forward to having your child-to-be around. He seemed like such a pleasant child.." It had been several weeks since that fateful day when Irisviel had found a small, red-haired, child among the ruins of the battlefield that had once been the Shinto District of Fuyuki City and they had seen Shirou in a few small visits as he recovered from the trauma of the horrors he had saw that fateful day.

"I imagine we'll have to prepare his room soon." Irisviel said with a yawn. "I've never put together a boy's room before."

"I'm sure you will be fine in all respects, my lady." Saber responded sounding far less tiered then her master. "Though I imagine it will be a bit harder to explain my presence here to a him." That statement ignited a spark in Irisviel's soul. There was something she had wanted to tell Saber, to air out the feelings that had gripped her heart over the course of the weeks she had spent with the King of Knights. Such matters did concern Shirou, if only by chance. Such was the magus' excuse to finally push her feelings to the forefront.

"That was actually something I've meant to talk to you about." Irisviel said, trying to hide the ever quickening beat of her heart.

"Oh? I am all ears, my lady." Saber sat intently, waiting for her master to speak her mind. Then, for several minutes, both parties sat quietly as Irisiviel was incapable of overcoming the block between her mind and her lips. And Saber lay confused as to why her master was so hesitant to speak aloud. "Are you all right?" Saber spoke out of concern.

"Yes, I'm fine. But...do you remember what we spoke about while we were shopping earlier?" Irisviel nearly stuttered as she spoke. Such was the nervousness abounding in her mind at the moment.

"We spoke of Shirou, my choice of wardrobe, and matters of the heart. Of which do you now speak?"

"The third one..." Irisviel composure was nearly broken. If she didn't speak soon the feelings had grown in her heart for ages now would likely overwhelm her common sense like they did when she and Saber had been waiting in the hospital months before. "I...I..." Normally one who freely spoke her mind, in the present Irisviel choked and stumbled on her words. After another moment of silence, Irisviel's true emotions finally found words. "I think I'm in love with you"

Saber sat in silence. She had expected her master to simply outline how her presence in the household would be explained. She had imagined she would have been simply named a housekeeper or nanny that Irisviel had hired to help keep house and care for her child. A confession was the last thing the servant Saber had imagine she would hear from her master. Indeed such feelings were alien to Saber. She had long known to the love of family, friends, and her fellow countrymen. But the singular feelings between two people known as romance were something she, honestly, had never experienced personally. As such, the brave knight could not find a response for her overtly emotional master.

"Saber..." Irisviel spoke through rush of emotions she was feeling. "You do not have to say anything. I will not sad if you want to stay master and servant." Despite her master thoughts otherwise, Arturia's silence was not a negative response to her statement. Rather, it signaled her inability to conjure a truthful answer from the seat of her soul. She did not wish to sadden her master, in fact her intentions were the opposite. Irisviel's happiness was of the utmost concern to the King of Knights. Seeing the red-eyes maiden crying in front of her like a small child was to much for Saber to bear. Her master's crying visage triggered something deep in Saber's psyche.

Now it all made sense, after all that had happened to them, all the time they had spent together, Irisviel had become her princess, a fair maiden should be protected from all the world's evil so that her pure happiness was preserved for all times. Such feelings may not have been "love" in the traditional sense of the word, but the Saber knew very well she and Irisviel were more than Master and servant. Unable to find words for such emotions, Saber approached Irisviel and embraced her in much the same way she had many times since the end of the Holy Grail War. "What are you doing?" Saber in turn quieted her master, gently placing a single finger upon her rosy-red lips.

"I cannot say that what I feel for you is the same love of which you speak, my lady. But I feel for you nonetheless." Saber held Irisviel close to her beating heart. Such action spoke louder than anything Saber could ever speak aloud. There was little Irisviel could say with words alone, either. The blush upon her face was enough to show that she had accepted Saber. "In regards to Shirou, you may refer to me in any way you see fit." Saber finally spoke, bringing the night full circle. "And, you may personally call me anything you like as well."

"Arturia..." Irisviel swooned. In that moment, though there contract remained, Irisviel Von Einzbern and Arturia Pendragon could no longer refer to each other as master and servant. Though, in the present, neither of then could formulate a word to describe what exactly they meant to one another. The shared warmth in their hearts as they lay entwined in each others' arms was proof of something profound had changed in the Emiya Manor that night.

Soon, exhausted in body and mind, the pair ended their night. Retiring to their shared sleeping quarters as they did every night for so long now. However this night was a slightly different, as the futon that had previously been spaced ten feet apart now lay side by side. A tiny change that spoke volumes in the midst of the starry Fuyuki City night.


	5. Home Coming

After months of waiting, the fateful day had finally arrived. The child known as Shirou would soon be joining the make-shift family consisting of a former heroic spirit and a homunculus born as the vessel of the wish-granting Holy Grail. Irisviel could barely contain her excitement at the prospect of bringing home the child she had personally rescued from an untimely death. Having rose from her shared sleeping quarters at an ungodly hour and dressing herself in an old t-shirt, cleaning apron, and tying her snow-white hair into a long pony-tail, the former vessel of the Holy Grail paced the entirety of her Japanese-style home several times over as she sought to make perfect every aspect of manor in preparation for the homecoming she had played out in her head so many times over in the recent past. Dusting every surface, washing every window, and making every bed with the building, Irisviel would do all she could in order to make a good first impression on her new son.

Though she had been treated as a princess when she had lived in the expansive Einzbern palace in Germany, in the present Irisviel only wished to afford Shirou a normal life far from the chaos and darkness that had been omnipresent in her former life. Her intense energy and excitement allowed Irisviel to continue her rampage for nearly three hours before finally succumbing to exhaustion. Though she was motivated by love to clean as she did, even magi have their limits. A fact that hit Irisviel like a ton of bricks as she slumped over in the manor's kitchen, her clothing covered in dust and wet with the lingering remnants of the gallon bucket of soapy water that had accompanied her on her quest for cleanliness. With a heavy sigh, she lamented the difficulties of the domestic lifestyle. "So this is how the maids felt every day." She said wiping a heavy sweat from her bare brow. "But this is all for my family, so I'll just do the best I can!" Irisviel smiled.

As Irisviel's heavy breathing reached the superior ears of her former servant and current lover, Arturia sprang from her futon and dashed toward where her beloved stood. Heavy breathing was often a sign of struggle, and the King of Knights would have no trouble come to the woman who had done so much for her since she had been summoned all those months ago. "IRISVIEL!" Arturia shouted as Irisviel's body came into full view. "Are you all right?" She said, gently propping her lover up in her thin arms.

"I am, Arturia." Irisviel said following with a slightly strained fit of laughter. "I just think I overdid it a bit with all the cleaning I did this morning." Though their relationship had changed much as of late, with the bond between them was one of romantic love rather than servitude. Somethings between the two would never change, such as the blond knight's compulsion to leaping into action when it seemed any form of harm would befall her snowy-haired partner. Irisviel couldn't help herself but smile at the pure concern her beloved showered upon her. "I want everything perfect when Shirou finally comes home."

"Of course, my lady. I've been waiting for this day with bated breath just as you have." Arturia smiled in turn, a physical show of the feelings dwelling in her heart. "But please, do not over work yourself. You worry me far more than you know." Irisviel nodded in agreement. Her and Arturia's relationship was one of mutual partnership. A partnership sealed with the sacred agreement between master and servant and tempered with the mutual trust that held like an unbreakable chain between two lovers.

"But I want to rest awhile before we go pick up Shirou, could please you take me back to the bedroom for now?"

"Of course. You've worked hard to make this home a comfortable place for your new child, you deserve your rest." As Arturia knelt upon one knee and took Irisviel in her arms, her former master offered a sly retort in kind.

"Our new child." She carefully corrected Arturia with a kind word. "You said that I may call you anything I wish when it came to your relation with Shirou. So, I'd like it if you would be his mother as well." Irisviel's word left no confusion in Arturia's mind. She was expecting such a statement ever since the day she and Irisviel, embraced in each others arms, declared deep feelings for one another. Such a sentiment needed no words, and thus the King of Knights offered a simple nod of her head in the positive. She would do anything for Irisviel and the same now applied to child that would soon live in the shared Einzbern-Pendragon household. All things settled, Arturia gently carried Irisviel back to their bedroom and tucked the homunculus back into her futon.

"I will see you in a few hours. Sleep well for now." Arturia said before leaving the room to work on her swordplay for a short while. It was her way of working off the stress of daily life. And, as she imagined, becoming a mother for the first time would be just as stressful as anything she had done as a king and knight.

***  
>Several hours passed as Irisviel napped and her blond-counterpart swung the her sword over and over the home the manor's adjoined dojo. Both of their minds readied for the grand event standing before them, the lovers met at the manor's front door. Ready to finally end the long wait that lay between them and reunion with their adopted child, master and servant nodded in unison. "May we take the car?" Irisviel spoke with her chin in hand. "I'm a bit sick of dealing with the driving of the Taxi cabs around here."<p>

"Of course, my lady. Though I must I must insist that I drive, as it would be quite unfortunate for Shirou to come down with a case of car sickness on his first day in his new home." Such a statement was Arturia's attempt at a joke. Though it was a more then a bit forced, Irisviel still laughed at her beloved's attempt at humor. She had changed so much in the time since they had first met, it was amazing that the woman standing before her was the same stern warrior her husband had summoned to bring glory to the Einzbern family.

Soon Irisviel found herself dragging Arturia to the garage where the sleek sports car they had used as transportation during the War was stored. Sitting in the elegant machine, Irisviel intertwined her fingers with Arturia's free hand, a show of solace in hope that their would be no complications in bringing their child home safe and sound. No further words were exchanged on route to the orphanage for those lucky, if one could even call orphans such a thing, to survive the Shinto Blaze. Here they waited for some kind soul to bring them home so that they may reclaim a small bit of the life they had lived before such tragedy had befallen their families. Shirou was among the luckiest of all, having found such a kind person in Irisviel just hours after being rescued.

Entering the facility, Arturia and Irisviel found Shirou silently standing beside the program's admin, a middle-age woman in a rather plain, white, business suit. The older woman prodded at Shirou as she saw his prospective parent's enter the building, hoping he would connect with them of his own free will. Irisviel, however, would not wait for Shirou to make a move and soon found herself holding her new child close to her rather ample chest, nearly suffocating the poor child in the process. The admin had seen many an enthusiastic parent in her time running the program, but Irisviel had exceeded anything she had seen in the past. However, whether this was a good thing, she really couldn't say. "Now, Miss Einzbern, there is a one last bit of paperwork I would like you to fill out before you take little Shirou home. If you would come with me..." The middle-aged motioned for her to Irisviel to follow her into her office. Irisviel in turn left the red-haired child to Arturia for the moment, hoping the two could connect one-on-one for once.

"It is nice to meet you, Shirou, I am Arturia Pendragon. I will be helping your mother around the house for the time being." Arturia's explanation was pragmatic as ever and lacked several key pieces of information about the nature of her relationship with Irisviel that would eventually need to be answered, but for all it's flaws, the speech held a profound layer of kindness just below its rather plain exterior.

"Pendr...Dra..." Shirou tripped over his own words. Unable to pronounce properly the foreign character of Arturia's rather regal name, Shirou began cry out of frustration with himself. Arturia in turn wiped the tears from the child's face and ruffled his red hair for a second. Offering a friendly smile, she did her best to endear herself to the young child.

"If you are having trouble with my name, you may simply call me Saber." Arturia was a bit unhappy to have to invoke the name she had worn as a servant, but, in the name of making her child was happy, it was a small sacrifice. "You seem like a kind child, I will be looking forward to spending time with you from now on" Shirou smiled back at the blond-haired girl and wrapped his small arms around her waist in kind. Meanwhile, Irisviel emerged from the admin's office just in time to see Arturia's display of familial affection play out in front of her very eyes. Seeing her beloved and her adopted son getting along so well brought a smile to her crimson-colored eyes.

"Well aren't you two adorable?" Irisviel teased, causing Arturia to cover her blushing face. "But's time to go you two! All the paper work is in order so we can finally go home!." Thanking the woman in charge for all she had done in the name of uniting her and Shirou as mother and son, Irisviel took both her lover and her child's hands and began the short walk towards the car waiting for them in the parking lot. However, as she began walking hand in hand like this for the first time since she and husband had left to fight the Grail war, Irisviel was overwhelmed by an intense wave of nostalgia. Though her new family may have looked a bit strange on the outside- and lacked a certain small girl- being together like this gave her the sense that her future was a bright one. As his new mother cried profusely, Shirou couldn't help but tug on his her sleeve and voice his concern.

"Are you ok, Miss Iri?" Shirou asked in a small voice. Though he had only known Irisviel and the blond-haired girl he now knew as Saber for a short while, he knew in his heart that he loved them very much. He literally owed them his life for dragging him from near certain death in terrible circumstances that were far beyond his control. Being together like this, as a family, instilled in his heart a wonderful feeling that his young mind could simply not put in words.

"I'm all right. It's just been a long time since I've felt like this." Irisviel said, finally finding the strength to enter the waiting car. It was a feeling she shared with Shirou, who had also lost his family to the horrors of war. Being brought together with those who needed each other so and as a family like this, was a miracle as far as she was concerned. Such emotions soon overwhelmed Irisviel's rational thought, causing her to hug Shirou the entire way home.

Upon being released into the expanses of the Emiya Manor Shirou couldn't help himself from dashing about and exploring every room, nook, and cranny of the building with the unquencable zeal that could only be found in the very young. Though she did her best to keep up with him, such was Shirou's energy that it took Irisviel nearly half an hour to finally capture her overly energetic son. "Now that I have your attention." Irisviel said with a sly smile. "I'd like to put out a few rules for living here: first: clean up your own messes, second: be kind to others, third: respect and listen to your mother and other adults, we usually know what is best for you." Though Irisviel's list was quite bare-bones, she imagined it would be enough to keep the peace in the Emiya Manor for the time being.

"All right..." Shirou said in a dejected way, to tired from the day's events to fight his mother's command.

"Good, you can go watch TV with Miss Arturia until dinner is ready and..." Irisviel said in a loving way as she embraced her beloved child and gently kissed him on the cheek. "Welcome home, Shirou."


	6. Resolve

Irisviel's days were perfect, filled with the bliss of family and the constant companionship of her servant turned lover. Their was little more she could wish for after having lost so much in such a short span of time. But, as dusk fell upon Fuyuki City and the stars overhead again shone upon the Emiya Manor, her body grew restless and specters of tragedies past linger in the realms of her unconscious mind. Though the entirety of her family lay at her side, Irisviel's very form grew restless as her subconscious summoned played scenes of her dark past over and over in a manner akin to a broken projector endlessly looping a single scene upon a blank wall. Memories of flame and death manifest in her psyche, contorting Irisviel's sleeping face into myriad expressions of pain and anguish while the rest of her body rolled to and fro as if to drown out the weight of decades of memory with a show of physical force.

She sometimes thought of the family that had so cruelly been torn apart over the millennium old obsession of the Eizbern family. In seeking the near infinite power of provided by Grail many lives consumed asi fuel for a nightmarish ritual to invoke the wishes of a single person lucky enough to have survived theeHoly Grail War. Like her grandmother Jutizica before her, Irisviel's life to would have been swallowed as well, had her husband not so selflessly sacrifice himself to prevent such a terrible event from ever happening. And, so cruel as it may have been, her own child would likely be drawn into the cycle as well. The thought was among Irisviel's greatest fears. To have her own flesh and blood used in such a matter made her sick to her stomach. Even dreaming of such a future was enough to nauseate the former Grail vessel.

And, on occasions such as tonight, sound joined body and soul in expressing the white-haired princess' inner-most demons, her mouth issuing forth anguished cries of sorrow and pain that could chill any mortal to the bottom of their very soul. "Darling..!" Irisviel moaned one such cry in the depths of the abyss of sleep, as her mind recalled the scenes of a few months earlier. "Are you?" That fateful day among the blazing ruins of the Shinto District, she had known all to well her beloved had left the mortal coil. Her being among the living was proof enough of that. It was Irisviel's heart that pushed her to walk through flames and sift endlessly through debris in search of her beloved husband that day. It was not till she heard of his demise from the lips of Kiritsugi's servant that she truly could believe that man she had loved for so long was truly gone. Despite the numbing shock of losing the man who meant the world to her, Irisviel's addled mind was conscious enough to put into perspective the circumstances surrounding Kiritsugi's sacrifice. _You had always said you'd be the death of me, funny how things turned out like this._

Irisviel had thought to herself that fateful day as she lay in Saber's arms as her husband's former servant sought the best way to save them both from the horrors of a battle between Magi gone horribly awry. Soon after the pair had rescued little Shirou from the fate that had claimed so many other poor souls caught in the Grail War's all-consuming wake. The small child, ragged and on the verge of collapse, was the pain of the war given flesh. Leaving him was simply not an option, Kiritsugi had given up his own life for her sake, if such a blessing could be of use to others Irisviel would do anything in her power to fulfill the promise of the hope left to her by her beloved.

What came after the fire was often a blur, in the space of a few hours the entire course of her life had changed. Between forming a contract with, and longingly kissing, the woman who had served as her bodyguard during the war and taking upon herself the task of looking after the tiny life she had rescued hours before, it seemed as if the life she had lived in the winter-bound castle of the Einzbern family would soon be a distant memory displaced with something completely new. The thought of her future being so uncertain lay heavily upon Irisviel's mind Even if she was not scared of the future, the idea that her entire way of life, the structure of her family, the place she lived, and so much more, was going to change overnight. It was a prospect that had caused her to cling to the only familiarity and memento left to her, the servant known in her life time as Arturia Pendragon. Taking up the contract that was shattered upon her husband's death and sealing it with a rather clumsy kiss, was a beacon in the darkness that was the unknown future. No matter what would happen in the future, Irisviel assured herself, Saber, and in time the small boy she had personally rescued, would be by her side. Comforted by the fact that she no longer needed to face the future alone, the rest came easily. They would live in the rundown manor Kiritsugi had bough to use as a hideaway during the war and set up a home to call their own. The rest would come in time.

Irisviel rose from her shared futon with a yawn late that morning. Well past the hour in which she would normally prepare breakfast for her family, she crept towards the manor's dining room in a hesitant fashion, as if fearful of retribution for missing the mornings' meal. Expecting unpleasant and accusing glares, Irisviel finally entered the dining spacing expecting to be chastised for her mistep but instead was instead greeted by the smiling faces of Arturia and Shirou, both dining upon the half-baked convenience store version of what passed for food.

"Good morning. Irisviel. It is good to see you are faring better than you were last night." Arturia spoke in a matter of fact way in between ingesting a rather large measure of rice.

"Good morning, mommy! Miss Pendragon took me to the store to get breakfast!" Shirou added. Irisviel, her hair mussed and her nightgown disheveled from a night of tossing and turning in bed, gave a simple smile in return before taking a seat at the ancient dining room table between her lover and adopted child. For all the discomfort and anguish caused by the pain of days past that weigh upon her the past night, being together like this was a balm that could close any wound and free relive any burden.

"And good morning to you two also!" Irisviel said with a gentle sigh that served as a physical manifestation of the passing of the events of the last night. "And thank you," Irisviel said turning to her beloved. "For getting breakfast without me having to ask." Irisviel, gazing lovingly in Arturia's emerald eyes, kissed her former servant on the cheek, a reward for all she had done as of late

"It is only proper, given my role in this family." Arturia spoke, slightly flustered by the intimate attention she had so suddenly received. "And It would be improper and rude to force one in your condition to cook."

"You always were always putting yourself before me..." Irisviel mused. Artuia had dutifully protected for so long Irisviel had almost forgotten what it felt like when she was without her faithful knight by her side. It was a comforting feeling, to say the least. "But that is enough of that I suppose, your mom needs to eat to." She directed her speech. Though the store-bought instant rice and fish was below average at best, it was the thought behind it that motivated Irisviel to consume it with such gusto. Though she could never catch up with the appetites of her partner and child, she nonetheless was capable of great feats when motivated by an emotion as powerful as love. Half an hour of consumption and idle chatter later nothing remained of the prepackaged breakfast that occupied the Einzbern dining room table that morning, leaving the rest of the day open for all involved.

"Shirou could you please take a bath by yourself today?" Irisviel gently asked,

"Aw ok..." Shirou shrugged. Bathtime had been one of the few times he was alone with his mother without the company of "Miss Pendragon", as Shirou had come to call the King of Knights. "We'll play later, right?"

"Of course, but hurry up or I might change my mind!" Irisviel giggled playfully. Shirou, not wishing to invoke the latter part of his mother's coy speech, soon sped off to carry out his appointed task. Leaving Arturia and Irisviel alone at the empty dining room table. A brief silence hung over the household for several minutes, with only the sound of running water breaking the aura surrounding the two lovers. "Are you truly all right?" Arturia asked out of concern for the forlorn look plastered upon her partner's face.

"No, not really." Irisviel spoke in a low way.

"Then what ails your mind, my lady? Is this about your condition this past night?" Irisviel nodded her head in the positive. Even if Irisviel had managed to put on a happy face in front of Shirou, she very well knew she could not hide her true emotions from her for very long.

"I've dreamed of the past quite a bit as of late. About the war, Kiritsugu, and my daughter." All elements of her previous life, such things now remained solid only in her memories save for the small girl who was now lay a continent away from her mother who missed her so dearly. "I know I cannot change the past, nor do I regret how things are now, but I miss my daughter Illyasviel more than anything and want her here, surrounded by people who love her." This was a moment that had been a long time coming. Even as she had set up her new life in Fuyuki with her new love and adorable child, Illya had been in the back of Irisviel's mind. A nagging problem that she wished to correct but could not do so until her existence was stable enough to give her daughter the stable home-life she so desperately needed.

"Do you intend to bring her home yourself, my lady? By the bonds shared between us she is my child as well, you must only say the word and it shall be done." Irisviel eyes teared over as soon as Arturia's words fell silent. Her body in turn found home in her lover's warm embrace. "There is no need for tears. I'm sure anyone in my place would do the same." Arturia stroked Irisviel's snow-white hair with one hand, the other lat rapped around her small frame, gently keeping the Einzbern homunculus close to her beating heart. All were actions meant to reassure Irisviel that everything would be ok, After the tears that had fallen down Irisviel's pale face could not only been found staining the old t-shirt Arturia often wore to bed at night, the rational part of her mind instantly began formulating how to make rescuing her daughter reality.

"I can put together the trip to Europe." Irisviel said still locked in Arturia's arms. "If you can handle anything else that may arise. I think we can do this!"

"But what of Shirou? Surely you don't mean to bring him with."

"I would like to leave him the daughter of the family next door, I think her name is Taiga. I've met her a few times when I've gone over to pay the lease on this place. She is a very kind girl though a bit odd. I think Shirou would like her."

"I see you've been thinking ahead. But for now I imagine your other child needs you as well. " Arturia smiled, as she heard the signs of Shirou's bath ending.

"I imagine your right. So we'll put together the details of all of this later. I know we can do this." Irisviel spoke hopefully as she wiggled out of Arturia's arms and dashed off to tend to her adopted son, first stopping at the hall closet to pull out a clean towel to deal with the likely mess such a young boy often cause when unsupervised.


	7. Side Story 1: Life or something like it

Every morning, at 6 A.M sharp Arturia rose from the futon she shared with her beloved and made her way to the wooden floors and traditional trappings of the manor's dojo, taking care not awaken her the rest of her make-shift family. Then, taking a shinai in hand, she went about her daily training. A method of honing her body, soul, and mind through the repetition of a ritual of sword strokes and slashes. Such a ritual was necessary to keep her skills in swordplay free of rust even in these days of peace and tranquility. Though those she once called foe were likely no longer of this world, there was no telling when a the day may come once more when she would have to take up her sword in the name of hearth and home.

But, as it often did, her training could only last for so long before those she those she called "family" roused from a sweet slumber and went about their own morning rituals. Wiping the sweat from her brow and taking a moment to catch her breath, Arturia ended her training for the day with a confident smile upon her face. The sword meant much to her and, someday, she hoped to pass her own passion for the blade and all it represented unto her young son, Instilling timeless lessons of confidence and honor in to his young mind in the process. But those were thoughts for another day, as the present was a work in process where all involved tried their best to fit into the oddly shaped puzzle that was the Einzbern household. By nine the rest of the family had joined the Arturia in the mornings activities, lending a familial warmth to a house that had felt so much more empty when it's residents were but master and servant.

Breakfast was the beginning of all things in the Emiya Manor, their day could simply not begin without a hearty dose of food and drink. _A battle cannot be won on an empty stomach, _was a mantra often put forth by the King of Knights and followed by the house hold at large as words to live by. Though neither Irisviel nor her beloved knight were especially adept cooks, the Einzbern homunculus was trying her best to learn. Though her early attempts ended in a spectacular array of fires, explosions, burnt food, and unknown substances, Irisviel had slowly, over many weeks, mastered the basics of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Bringing her one step closer to being the ideal mother she had always hoped to be. Shirou, his childish love of learning ever-burning in his chest, had become memorized by his mother's slow journey to culinary excellence, standing by her side every step of the way and offering encouragement in moments of both triumph and failure. It was these small moments, bonding as a family around the trivial details of everyday life, that had made all the toil and heartache of the last few months worthwhile to all involved.

With breakfast ready and spread across the creaking table of the manor's dining room, the real meal rarely lasted half an hour. Arturia was a voracious eater, taking in at least three bowls of rice and several side dishes in a single sitting and her young son was similarly gifted, though scaled to fit his small frame. While Irisviel could never hope to keep up with those around her in sheer volume of food consumed, it warmed her heart to see them eat as much as they did. After food came TV and discussion of anything and everything. Having only lived together a family for a matter of weeks there was still much to learn about one another. Arturia would often spin tails of battle and the ancient past, disguising them as mere myth and legend for the time being, While Irisviel often recalled the happier moment of her life with the man who had so heroically sacrificed himself so that she and Arturia may live. Though there was much his mothers were more than happy to share, there was just as much Arturia and Irisviel kept secret from their adopted son. Arturia's status as a heroic soul and the former king of England, Irisviel's origin as a homunculus and magus of the Einzbern family, and the unfortunate war that had brought them all together. Someday, when Shirou was older and mature enough to handle the truth of his parents' checkered past, they would tell him everything. But, till then, it was enough to sit and enjoy the simplicity of living as a happy family and free of the chains of the past.

The afternoon was a time for errands. Grocery shopping was often the order of the day, with the food consumed by Arturia alone warranting such action as least twice a week. Such trips into the older shopping district were a family affair, with all involved being dragged two and fro for hours on end as Irisviel shopped at what could be best described as a frantic pace. As was the case with many domestic matters, in her earlier life Irisviel had the luck of having a small array of maids to carry out such tasks for her. As the head of a household, she now had to do all of this for herself. Shopping, cleaning, and cooking all feel squarely on her pale shoulders. Though her attempts at mastery of the domestics arts were often clumsy and haphazard, Irisviel's intentions were sincere and, in the end, that was all her family could ask.

By nightfall, the hurried pace of life in the Emiya manor grew to a quiet crawl as the everyone living within its interior ready for dinner and an eventual night of restful slumber. Dinner went very much the same way as breakfast, with food and bonding passing through the dining room at an equal rate. Someday soon, Shirou would begin school and family moments like this would give way to helping a child with his home work, parent-teacher conferences and other school activities. But, till then, it was nice to spend each and every day as a family. It called to Irisviel's mind the halcyon days living in far-off Einzbern castle with her small daughter and stoic husband. Sometimes during dinner or while watching television, such thoughts seized control of her mind, sending forth a nearly endless supply of tears forth from her eyes that stained her face and clothes. But such attacks never lasted long, as the sight of her son quickly asking if she was ok and her lover holding her close to her quickly beating heart cured any nostalgic feelings lingering in her mind.

And finally came the star-filled Fuyuki nights. Long ago Arturia and Irisviel had closed the distance between their respective futons and began sleeping beside one in another in a show of their mutual affections one another. And the recent past had brought Shirou into the arrangement as well, placing the small child firmly between his mothers in an extended line of futons and pillows. An ideal picture of family harmony when asleep, getting to that point was an exercise in futility. Though well-mannered in most respects, Shirou was still a seven-year old boy and prone to the chaotic energy that went along with such a title. The duty of calming the child often fell upon the shoulders of Arturia, who often resorted to calling upon her days marshaling troops in ancient England to solve the problem at hand, using a stern gaze to quiet any resistance boiling in the Shirou's small body. When all over and done, a family laid hand in hand drifted slowly in night's warm embrace, another day lived to its fullest nestled in the quiet corners of their minds where sweet memories lived on forever...


	8. Side Story 2: Teach me Einzbern Sensei!

Side Story 2: Einzbern Consultation Room; Emiya Manor version

A legendary realm where wandering souls gather for guidance and information, an Avalon for those searching for guideposts in the vast darkness of the universe, such was the basis of the mysterious wandering classroom known as the Einzbern Consultation Room. Formally located in a spacious and elegant side room of the Einzbern Caste [Japanese annex], for budget reasons, the legendary home for the lost had moved into the spare bedroom of the Emiya manor in the old district of lovely Fuyuki City. Even in these dark days, the consultation room remains ever vigilant in its mission to shepard those who seek it's guidance back to the path of light and righteousness, headed by Irisivel Von Einzbern and her loyal side-kick Zecchan a new legend is forged with love and justice! The Einzbern Consultation Room begins now!

"Welcome lost travelers to the room where dreams come to life and minds set at ease, the Einzbern Consultation Room is now open for business!" Irisviel, dressed in custom pink and black kimono, shouted at the top of her lungs. "After all that has happened it feels good to be back, isn't that right Zecchan?"

"Of course sensei! It's been so long since we last did this there must be mountains of new information I need to learn!" Garbed in a track jacket and the ever so infamous bloomers often associated with gym class in Japanese high-schools, Irisviel's assistant was a young woman of great energy and resolve.

"That's actually not true my loyal student! Since we last talked the war has ended and all involved scattered to the four winds. There is nothing about that topic I have left to teach you."

"Then what is there left to do sensei! If the war is over what will become of the Consultation Room?"

"An excellent question, Zecchan. For now we will discuss the Grail War's aftermath for, as a wise man once said, those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it!" A fire had been lit within Irisviel's heart, with a new topic on her mind and a myriad stories dancing on her pale lips, all of her earlier work would not be in vain, the Consultation Room would must live on!

"The Grail grants the winner a single wish, right? Did it actually happen this time?"

"That is an excellent question with a very sad answer. At the end of the war two masters remained, My dear Kiritsugu and a man of the Church named Kotomine, who was also Archer's master. Saber-chan and Archer fought for a long time but neither was the clear winner. My memory was hazy after that point, but kiritsugu eventually came into contact with the Grail itself. His wish was to live with me and our daughter once more. But, being the fiendish artifact it is, the grail only granted part of his wish returning my life but at the same time extinguishing his." Irisviel recounted her sordid past with a tear in her eyes.

"That's terrible sensei! I'm so sorry things happened like that, you must miss your husband so much...!"

"It's all right, Zecchan. I do miss him, but things have worked out for the best, given all that has happened. After I regain consciousness I was able to meet up with Saber-chan and rescue a small boy from the horrible fire that sprung up after the Grail appeared."

"That boy you rescued was your adopted son, Shirou, right sensei?"

"Very observant, Zecchan. You get a gold star!" True to her word, Irisviel actually pinned a rather gaudy star emblem to her student's jacket

"Thank you sensei! I will continue to do my best!"

"Moving forward with my story, me and Saber-chan started to live together in the manor in which we now stand. It's a bit smaller than the Einzbern Castle, but it is a cozy little home. Don't you think?"

"Now that you mention it, I was wondering why the Consultation Room had moved to this cramped bed room!" Zecchan said bluntly.

"Moving on..." Irisviel gently nudged her rather rude assistant to drop the subject. "Since then Shirou has joined the household and we've all begun living as a happy family."

"So Saber-chan is like your sister?"

"Nope! Try again my dear student!"

"Cousin?"

"Wrong again! You have one guess left."

"Maid?" From the background a loud gong sounds, signifying the end of the quiz.

"Wrong again, my student. Next time you should study more if you wish to pass the exam. But, if I had to put a word to it I'd say that Saber-chan is my girlfriend." Irisviel contemplated with her chin firmly in her hand.

"So you and Saber-chan are Lesbians?" Zecchan yelled in shock.

"No, Zecchan, we are in love. And that is all there is to it." With a smile, there was a warmth behind Irisviel's words that radiated through the air and conveyed her feelings directly to her student's very soul.

"Understood sensei, Love is a mysterious thing that I will work hard to understand!"

"Wonderful Zecchan! I hope you find someone who loves you as much as I love Saber-chan!"

"Hm...If I was going to fall in love I'd like it find someone who would cook for me morning, noon, and night,"

"Then you must stay positive if you wish to win his heart!"

"And with that, your all caught up. I hope you've learned a lot today, my loyal student."

"Yes! I've learned that the Holy Grail is not worthy of trust and that love comes in many forms."

"Keep those lessons in your hearts and let them bloom into trees of knowledge, Zecchan, for all of this will be on the test."

"So what do we do now, sensei?"

"Well, Saber-chan and Shirou will be home from the grocery store in a few minutes so it would best to call it a day. By the way, would you mind babysitting Shirou awhile? Me and Saber-chan are going on vacation and I'd love it if you could do this for us. I'll pay you, of course."

"I guess I could, sensei! But where are you two going?"

"Well...We're going to visit my family in Germany. It's a long story but now that life is stable we're going to bring my daughter back home."

"I wish the best of luck, sensei!"

"Thank you, Zecchan! And I'll wish you good luck to, little Shirou is a bit of a handful at times. But I'm sure you to will get along just fine.


	9. Assult Einzbern Castle! Part 1

Illya sat at her bedside window, stared into the falling snow just outside her room, and wondered. She wondered many things. What the maids would make her for dinner, what dress she would wear the next day, and when her mother and father, now missing for several months, were going to return home. She knew they had gone overseas to Japan for business and would be back in a few several weeks. And so she had waited patiently and been a good girl like her grandfather had told her to. And, on the appointed day of reunion, she could not have been happier. Dressed in her finest clothing and make up, she sat before the door of Einzbern Castle with a smile upon her face. Several hours went by but still Illya remained resolute, she was sure they would be home soon. They wouldn't abandon their only daughter after all, would they? As the sun set over the horizon and day turned into night, no knock came at the door, no phone call brought news of any delays or issues abroad. It had become all to clear to the young Einzbern homunculus that her parent's were not coming home.

And so days became weeks and weeks months, with each passing moment she held fast to the a small sliver of hope remaining in her young psyche that someday her parents' presence may once more grace the extravagant halls of Castle Einzbern. And so she continued to watch the snow slowly drifting to the pure white earth below with a sigh. It didn't seem they would be coming back today either. Raising from her bed, the youngest Einzbern skipped out of her room and down the grand staircase that separated the various tiers that made up the castle's intricate inner workings and towards her grandfather's study where the head of the Einzbern family worked out the intricate wheeling and dealings of the millennial old clan of magi. "Grandpa!" Illya yelled while flinging herself upon the old man's waiting lap.

"Illyaseivel, how many times must I tell you not to bother me when I'm working." He chastised Illya in a deep voice. "There are important preparations to be made and I do not have time to play with you at the moment." The old man was stern in his approach towards Illya, after all, to him she was a mere tool. A replacement for her mother who had failed him so badly during the Fourth Grail War. But he would never tell Illya that. As he had seen with Irisviel, a happy vessel made it that much easier to orchestrate the grand machinations that made the Grail Wars possible. To this end, he patted Illya on the head and beamed to her an empty smile that would fool only the very young and very stupid. "Now run off and play with the maids until dinnertime, all right?" Illya puffed out her cheeks in a show of her annoyance.

"I don't wanna play with the maids any more." She pouted. "I want my mom and dad..." Illya stood on the verge of tears. As she had been forbidden to leave the castle, her mother and father were all she had. When they had been together everything had been ok, everyday had been filled with love and happiness. But now, with only the emotionless maid homunculus of the Einzbern Clan for company, she was a lonely child without any outlets for her childish impulses and transgressions.

"How many times have I told you that you must wait patiently, Illyasivel. Your crying will not bring your parents home." The Einzbern patriarch voiced in a matter-of-fact way. "Now please, return to your room until the maid's call you for dinner." Illya merely nodded in response with a sad look upon her pale face. She knew she could not win against the old man and instead slunk back to her room in a rather dejected mood.

No friends, no family, she had nothing in all this world. Throwing herself upon her bed, Illya laced her hands together, closed her eyes, and began a silent prayer to no one in particular. _Please bring my mom and dad home soon, I'm so lonely without them..._

* * *

><p>"Achoo!" Irisviel let loose a tiny sneeze as she entered the Emiya Manor's entrance way, a pair of plane tickets nestled firmly against her chest.<p> 


	10. Assult Einzbern Castle! Part 2

Everything was in place. A sitter had been found for Shirou in the form of one Taiga Fujimura, round trip planes tickets procured to the homeland of the Einzbern family, and a plan of attack concocted for the final push to rescue their beloved daughter, Illya. All that was left for the Princess of the Einzberns and her loyal guardian and lover was to take the final plunge and head for Germany to put of all their planning into action. Whatever awaited them in the ancient castle that Irisviel once called home, it would all be worth it to protect the family they both had worked so hard to build and protect. And so the longest week of their lives began early one morning, as the maiden in white carefully packed all that she would need to rescue Illya.

"Are you all right, milady? You seem nervous. If there is anything wrong we may move the trip back." Arturia asked nervously as her partner placed the last of her wardrobe into an old suitcase.

"Don't worry, Arturia. I'm all right. It is just a bit overwhelming seeing my family again so soon. I can't imagine they will be all that happy to see either of us." Irisviel chuckled to dispel the tension surrounding the current circumstances. "Though I doubt anyone would be very happy to see the person who ruined a plan they have tried to put into action for nearly a thousand years." Small drops of sweat dripped down Irisviel's brow as she spoke. In truth she had never been so nervous in all her life, save possibly for those days during the war when her health waned and her soul soon become one in the same as the wishing vessel so many had sought over the centuries.

"No matter what may happen, I will protect you and Illyasivel. We are family now and I will let no one stand between us." Irisviel giggled once more in a less strained way, Arturia's straight forward nature when it came to their little, makeshift family was refreshing in those days when everything surrounding their family floated in the midst of a sea of uncertainty.

"All right then,. Till Illyasivel is back here with us, I will leave my care to you." Irisviel smiled as she put the last of her clothing into her suitcase. Shutting the decade old cases hinged lid one last time, every last detail was finally in order and it was time to return to the land in which she was born and where her partner emerged into the modern age. "Lets go then, if we stay longer we will have to deal with Shirou's crying face." It was hard enough leaving her son for a week, even if it was with someone she trusted as much as Taiga. Seeing him bawling in such a way was a heartrending blockade she simply could not deal with the moment, or at least without stalling their trip for a several hours. Instead, a simple goodbye and kiss on the cheek would have to do.

"Goodbye, Shirou! Be good for Taiga-chan till we get back!" Irisviel yelled to her adopted son as she took a seat in the waiting taxi parked in the drive way of their traditional Japanese home.

"And make sure to keep up your training, there will be a test when I return." Arturia added before sitting down beside her master and lover. Ever the pragmatist, there was little chance she would let her only pupil's training go to rust for ever a second while she was gone. The taxi's driver revved the small vehicle's engine and then sped off. Leaving the couple in his rear seat with nothing but a last wave as the last link between them and the boy they had worked so hard to bring into their lives. "Do you really think Shirou will be ok with Taiga?" Arturia asked as her partner starred longingly out the window.

"I think he will be fine, but it's Taiga I'm worried about" Irisviel giggled once more. "This is that poor girl's first time spending any amount of time with a small child. If she hasn't been run ragged by the time we get back I think she'll deserve a bit of hazard pay!" Though her speech remained as goofy as ever, Irisviel mind was elsewhere, divided between the depressing thought of not seeing her son for an entire week and the excitement of finally being reunited with the daughter she had not seen in months.

" I imagine so. But try to try to get some rest, milady. It is going to be a very long trip." Though more than a bit humorless Arturia was quite correct, it was a half-a-day's flight between Japan and Germany, a distance that would be more than enough to leave even the King of Knights exhausted. And Irisviel was not to turn down a direct command from some one she cared for and trusted so very much, and quietly spent the rest of the drive napping, her head laid gently against her Arturia's shoulder. Watching her partner slowly fall into a peaceful slumber, Arturia weaved her lithe fingers through the older woman's hair with a smile on her face. As this trip was likely rife with danger and violence, this was likely the last time she would her see her beloved so peace and it was a moment she etched into her memory, a reminder of all that she was fighting for.

The trip through the airport near Fuyuki City was no problem, in no small part thanks to the forged documents that Kiritsugu had gifted to Arturia and Irisviel during the prior war, and within the space of an hour both Irisviel and her knight were on a plane headed for Germany. As they had agreed beforehand there would be no discussion aboard the plane, there would be plenty of time for that once they had landed and checked into the hotel which would serve as their base of operation to rescue Illysivel Von Einzbern. Thus, as the plane's engines roared and the metal craft climbed higher and higher into the brisk air of a mid-winter morning, Irisviel stared in wonder out the window near her seat. Though she was an adult, all the years spent bound to the Einzbern family's ancestral castle had left her with a child-like appreciation for the outside world and the many things that lie in it. The view given to her as the plane rose higher and higher was no exception and filled the homunculus' heart with a feeling of wonder and freedom, a combination that made it seem as if nothing in the world could come between her and her goals and dreams.

"Arturia!" She called to the woman sitting beside her. "You have to see this!" Arturia humored her princess, reaching her head across the seat and gazing upon the same open sky that had so entranced her beloved.

"It is very beautiful, and I am grateful the weather was cooperating with us thus far. I would hate for our plans to be disrupted on account of a storm." Though it was only the second time she had ever been on a plane as well, the eternally blue sky outside her window meant little to the King of Knights, but the happiness of the woman to whom she owed more than she could ever possibly repay meant all the world to her. "And I hope that Illya will be able to see such a sky when we all return home as well." Irisviel smiled profusely, though she had heard it many times before, her heart always sang when she heard Arturia speaking in such a manner. It made her remember the days when her family was whole and it seemed as if nothing could ever break them apart. In the deepest parts of her heart, upon Illya's return, that those days could come again.

"And that is why I love you." Irisviel whispered quietly into her partner's ear, sealing her loving declaration with a simple kiss on the cheek that caused Arturia to blush a shade of red normally reserved for tomatoes. "

"Th...that is quite enough, milady, there are others watching." Arturia muttered out of embarrassment.

"I don't care. Everyone should know how much I love you!" Irisviel nearly sang. "Just say it back and I'll cut it out!" Arturia grumbled as her annoyance with Irisviel grew more and more.

"Fine...I love you." She squeaked, trying her best to hide such declarations from those around her.

"I can't hear you." Irisviel teased further.

" I love you! There is no one else in this world I care about more and if I was not with you I do not know what I would do with myself! Are you happy now?" Arturia nearly screamed aloud as her blush reached critical mass. In turn, Irisviel wrapped her arms around the woman beside her and ran her fingers through her blond hair, quieting her beloved knight in a way that only she could.

"I am. I couldn't be any happier" Irisviel cooed as her partner gradually calmed herself and regained the composure she was so famous for. The happy couple sat in each others embrace for the rest of the flight, much to the annoyance of many a single passenger sitting near them.

Right on schedule the continent spanning plane roared into the German airport with little fanfare, leaving master and servant to quickly gather their things and make for the hotel they had chosen for its proximity to the Einzbern family's ancestral home. Stepping out of the airport, bags and the money for the rental car firmly in hand, and into the sun of the cold morning air, a strange feeling of nostalgia took hold Irisviel's heart. Though it had been but a few month since she had left place of her birth and headed to the east with her husband in the name of fulfilling the Einzbern's millennial old wish, in that small span her entire life was turned on its head. With a new home in a new country, a new child, and a new lover, she was no longer the naïve girl who had spent decades in isolation like a fairytale princess. All she had now was possible because of the selfless sacrifice of her beloved husband r, silently and with her free hand pressed firmly against her beating heart, she gave thanks for all that she was so lucky to have. _"I don't think I will ever be able to repay all that you have done for me, but way giving Illyasivel the happy home she has always deserved is the least I can do in exchange for the miracle that you have bestowed upon me and Arturia."_

"Shall we go, milady? Our vehicle awaits." Arturia spoke, interrupting her partner's self reflection.

"Oh! Of course, our daughter is waiting for us after all." The vehicle in question was a two-door car with a silver paint job that sparkled in a gaudy sort of way when exposed to the sun. Though a far cry from the expensive toys that Kiritsugu was so fond of, it's utility under the current circumstances was unquestionable as the road to Einzbern castle was long and far from well-traveled, leaving it a hard sell for hiring a cab or other similar way of public transportation.

"I will drive." Arturia declared, taking the driver's seat without so much as a word of objection from the snowy haired maiden beside her. Irisviel's driving was a horror greater than most, that even as a memory settled firmly in her mind was enough to drive the color from the her face and send a massive chill down her spine. Hoping to never again repeat such a tragedy, there would be no further discussion of who the chauffeur of the Pendragon-Einzbern family was. Putting her Ride skill to use once more, Arturia shifted the borrowed car into drive and sped off down the road towards town, her mind set firmly on the daring raid she had pledged to carry out sometime in the next few days. Irisviel, laid a hand on her darling's hand that lay free on the small automobile's gear shift, as if silently quieting any doubt that lay in her loyal knight's mind with a silent plea of "e_verything will be ok."_

Night fell and the bright light of the moon fell over the small hotel room. Though both of room's occupants were terribly tired and wished ever so nearly for sleep's sweet embrace, there was planning to do and not a single second could be left to waste. Unpacking her things, Arturia produced a large hand-drawn map and placed it upon the ground. "Are you sure this is right?" She questioned of Irisviel, who sat beside her while pouring over the map produced almost entirely from her own memories. "

"It should be." She spoke aloud as she tried to recall any other helpful knowledge on the subject. "Though I never really made mental note of where everything in the castle was, I do think this will be enough for us to get in, rescue Illyasivel, and get out again." The Einzbern, like most families bound by magic, were a secretive lot who rarely brought outsiders into their midst. So it was no surprise that little to no information existed on the general layout of the their ancient castle ever found it's way into the general public.

"Very well, if this is all we have to go on, the best course of action would be an assault by night. It is unlikely that anyone within the castle will be expecting us or even knows that either of us are still alive. If we are careful this will be a simple search and rescue mission, should we be found, however..." Arturia's voice trailed off. Even for one as powerful as the King of Knights herself, storming into the main stronghold of an enemy faction was an act tantamount to suicide and something she would have never tried during her reign as king. But, in the here and now, with the freedom of Irisviel's daughter at stake, she was willing to do whatever it took to make her partner's dreams a reality. "We will have a rough fight on our hands. Do you remember what kind of defenses your grandfather kept around the castle?"

"Hm... Well, I do remember that some of the maids had training as guards and Kiritsugu once mentioned to me that there were several barriers surrounding the castle to keep intruders out and alert grandfather of every anyone entering or leaving the premises" Irisviel spoke laying on the bed behind her lover. Though her statements were vague at best, it was all the pair had to go on.

"Then, my lady, I will leave the disabling of any magic we may come across to you, in return I will act as I always have and protect you from any that may seek to cause harm to you." Though such a sentiment needed no words, indeed she would do anything for her beloved Irisviel and had long ago pledged to protect her no matter what may come, saying it a loud helped to calm Arturia's nerves. "I know that we can do this and mark my word as a knight, Illyasivel will be coming home with us no matter what your family may throw at us!"

Much to her surprise, there was no response from the woman she loved so much. She had expected a loud hooray or even a kiss upon the cheek, but neither came even after a solid minute of waiting. Arturia's worries were short-lived, however, as a loud snore soon echoed through the air around her. Knowing all to well who the noise emanated from, the King of Knights turned around and, to some surprise, found her beloved sleeping soundly, her arms firmly rapped round a pillow and with a contented look plastered across her pallid face. To see her beloved so peaceful, even when the hour of their departure into the unknown came ever closer, brought a calm feeling to Arturia's heart. There was no reason to wake Irisviel, the plan for Illya's rescue was firmly in place. For now, she thought, it would be all right to let her rest for the time being. They both had a long road to walk, but so long as they traversed it together, all would be right in their little world.

Till the hour when they would venture forth in the name of rescuing one so beloved to them both, Arturia to laid down beside her partner, hoping in some small way to share in the happiness that had produced such a splendid smile...


	11. Assult Einzbern Castle! Final Part

The rented car sped down a lonely, dark, road half-frozen with the last remnants of a long and depressing winter, it passengers nervously silent with anticipation for the battle that lay before them. Though the former servant Saber's mind lay focused firmly on the road ahead, her partner lay in deeper thought as she stared nostalgically at the wintery landscape of her ancestral homeland. It had been nearly four months since she had last lay foot in the castle of her youth, sighing she the thought original intentions floated into her freshly awakened mind. Irisviel had hoped to return on better terms, with her husband's goals fulfilled and a joyous reunion of parent and child awaiting the victors after the endless torment of Holy Grail War. But life had other plans for it seemed, and here she now was. Ready to storm the castle she was born in order to rescue the daughter that had for so long been awaiting her return.

"Arturia..." Irisviel said in a depressed tone. "Do you really think we can rescue her?" Though her mind was firmly on driving, Arturia simply could not let her partner's ill thoughts wander, lest the jeopardize the mission at hand.

" We've done the impossible before, I doubt this time will be any different." Arturia's warm and comforting gaze lay firmly on Irisviel, while her lips curled into a reassuring smile. "I promise to you, by days end we will have Illya in our possession." Though they were just words they were enough to break the spell of doubt lingering in Irisviel's mind.

"Thank you, love." Irisviel said returning her partner's smile.

"But please do get your rest, you will need all the energy we can muster for the task ahead" Irisviel nodded in the positive and lay her head upon a pillow borrowed from the hotel room where they were staying. There was at least an hour's drive ahead of them, and in a battle such as this where every small detail mattered, the smallest of boons could easily turn the tide of battle one way or another. Irisviel slowly drifted to sleep, her thoughts firmly on her beloved daughter.

Einzbern Castle loomed ominously over the forest surrounding it, its ancient facade cracked and worn like the face of one who has lived a long and hard life. Located well off of any marked highway or street, the path to the millennia old structure was paved with stone mined in a time long before most anyone alive today could remember. It was along that path that Saber and Irisviel sped, coming ever closer to prison their beloved daughter lay held by an unfeeling master. It was near midnight as the pair finally reached the enormous structure, parking their vehicle in the sea of trees that surrounded most of the castle. With as much silence as either of them could muster, Arturia and Irisviel crept hand in hand, as to not loose track of one another, towards the imposing fortress.

"Do you remember our plan?" Saber whispered.

"Yes, I will disable the castle's barriers so that we can slip in without alarming my father, then you will take care of anyone who stands between us and Illya." Saber nodded in agreement as the massive, stone, walls of Einzbern Castle now lay directly before them. Though it did not look it to the naked idea, the most powerful of the castle's defenses lay hidden in the ether between worlds. A powerful, invisible, barrier lay between the castle's outer walls and any would-be thieves foolish enough to try to plunder the ancient structure. And yet many had tried to do just that and the result was always the same, giving up out of the sheer frustration of being unable to breech the barriers or death at the hands of the small army of maids that staffed the castle all hours of day and night. And it was just that barrier that Irisviel Von Einzbern now tried to break asunder.

By Einzbern magic it was and by Einzbern magic it would be broken. Focusing all of her prana on the offending structure, hoping, that even for a moment it would give way. Allowing them access the castle's innards. As she stood, her stance one of focus and determination, Irisviel's magic clashed against that of the barrier's, a duel of mystical energy that could easily break a less power magi's mind in two. But Irisviel was not ordinary magus, the vessel of the Grail itself, her entire body was laced with a myriad of magical circuits, allowing her will to push back against the magical blockade and, her face aflame with the focus of one final push, the barricade, if just for a second broke. Showering the snowy forest floor with a glittering rain of purple motes.

"Now!" Arturia yelled, grabbing Irisviel's hand as she dashed through the nearly invisible hole broken in the Castle's defense by her beloved's own hand. A short run later, they now lay on the other side of the invisible wall that lay to halt all who dare approach it. Arturia slowly walked towards the castle's wall that lay firmly in normal space and lay her free hand to it, checking for any more typical defenses that may lay in wait. It was nothing more than stone and mortar.

"Father never believed in typical traps, magic was the Einzbern family's forte and every facet of our existence, from our home to how I and Illya were born lay testament to this fact." Irisviel said grimly as she freed her hand from her beloved's warm embrace. "Let's go before any one notices us." Saber nodded. They would enter the castle via one it's ground floor windows, make their ways upstairs, and finally remove Illya from the home that had become a prison. Carefully breaking the glass of nearby pristine window with the hilt of her summoned blade, Irisviel was first to force her way in. Twisting her lithe frame to wit through the hole her former servant had created for her. Inside, first brushing the glass from her skirt, Irisviel surveyed the open area that welcomed visitors to Eiznbern Castle. As late as it was, no one was now active in the area, if they were quick, she imagined, they would be able to snatch Illya away from her captors and end this horrid affair once and for all. After making one last sweep of the room, Irisviel motioned for Arturia to follow. "The coast is clear, we should be fine." She said in a hushed tone. The King of Knights in turn followed her partner's lead into the Einzbern Castle proper.

"Don't you think it rather odd that there isn't anyone guarding this premises, Irisviel? The Einzbern, as I understand them, are one of the most important family of magi in the entire world. I would expect more security then this." Saber questioned resolutely.

"It is a bit strange...I would have expected a few of the maids to be about." Irisviel thought aloud, one finger pressed firmly against her chin. "I imagine father thought the barrier would be enough to keep most people out. But lets not waste our chance while we have it!" Irisviel accidentally yelled before quieting herself once more. Arturia nodded in return, not wishing to add any more noise to the situation . And so the two walked quietly through the shadows of the castles' foyer and towards the stairs leading to the second floor and the bedroom where Illya most likely lie asleep.

Their gentle steps echoing through the empty entrance way, hope swelled in the hearts of all involved. They were so close to their goal, everything had gone as it should, all that was left was to find Illya and leave the souless castle of her birth forever. But something was watching them, a pair of eyes floating in the darkness of a quiet corner stared intently, neither speaking nor moving, they reeked of inhuman power and mystic might. And they continued to stare, unblinking nor moving at master and servant as they approached the castle's stairs. And then, in a flash, they were gone, spirited away to an unknown place by an unknown force. In their silent excitement, neither Irisviel nor Arturia had noticed the shadowy watcher. Fate is funny like that sometimes.

* * *

><p>"My master, two intruders have entered the castle via a window on the first floor. One of them appears to be Irisviel" Appearing forth from shadows of the candle-lit study, one of the Einzbern family's many maids appeared before her master, the elderly patriarch, Acht Von Einzbern. Who now sat reading at his desk. "What shall I do with them?" Acht, putting on his book down upon the desk before him, contemplated for a moment. He had known this day would come in one form or another. Someone had drawn upon the Einzbern 's bank account for sometime now. It was either his daughter or that scruffy excuse for a magus he had so unwillingly place his hopes and dreams upon. Both failures, he thought while scoffing aloud. But still, something had to be done about the matter.<p>

"I will deal with her myself." Acht rose from his chair with an aura of authority and anger radiating from his very being. "I know not how she survived the war, but if she means to steal what it rightfully mine she will be punished. Summon a few maids and have them meet me on the second floor, I have a few things I must discuss with my precious "daughter"." Acht then walked off and out of his study, his long, white, robes flowing elegantly behind him. Flanked on either side by the emotionless drones of the Einzbern maid corp he appeared much as a dignitary preparing to discuss his public. "Irisviel will pay for the shame and misery she had brought to the Einzbern name." He murmured to himself. "

* * *

><p>Their goal so close, Irisviel and Arturia smiled at one another they as began to ascend the staircase that lie between them and Illya. As they did, the darkness that had surrounded them for so long was suddenly illuminated in a burst of light as the entire hall. And at its head stood a man Irisviel had never wished to see again. The source of all her sorrows, the person who had kept her locked away from the world for so very long, the patriarch who had sacrificed so many for his twisted ambitions. Acht Von Einzbern stood sternly at the spot where the stair's upon which she stood became the castle's second floor. At his side stood four seemingly identical maids, each, armed with either sword or polearm, stood silent and stoic as their master gestured grandly in Irisviel's direction. "Father..." Irisviel stood shocked, unable to move nor speak a word more. Arturia in turn stood before her lover, sword drawn. Serving as a wall between her and those who sought to do her harm.<p>

"Welcome home, Irisviel. You've been gone so long, I had begun to wonder if you were ever coming home." The Einzbern patriarch spoke mockingly. He could sense the fear radiating from his daughter's very soul, and planned to abuse such emotions in any way he could. "Have you come to visit? No, I imagine you would have at least knocked if that were the caster. Or did you plan to take your daughter back? You know I've grown rather attached to the child since you've been gone and would hate to see her leave so suddenly, wouldn't you agree?" Acht's words drilled themselves deep in Irisviel's mind, invoking fear and hopelessness where ever the may land. "Now, if you would be so kind as to leave, I will pretend all of this never happened." Irisviel could not speak, so paralyzed were her mind and body. Sensing this, Arturia took reign of the conversation, taking the action her beloved could not.

"We have come for _our_ daughter." Arturia solemnly stated, taking special care to emphasis her connection to all this. "And neither of us will be leaving until Illya is safely in our hands." The King of Knights stood her ground, her invisible blade poised to cut down any foolish enough to attack the shaken woman standing behind her.

"And who might you be to make such threats?" Acht condensed. He had not seen hide nor hair of Saber since the day she was summoned, there was even less of a chance he would recognize the King of Knights dressed in such a modern way. "State your name, so I may know whom is claiming ownership of that which is mine."

"I am Arturia Pendragon, former King of England, knight, servant, and beloved of Irisviel Von Einzbern." Her air noble and befitting the many titled lauded upon her, Arturia once more stood firmly upon the ideals and beliefs that had carried her this far. "And I say once more, return our child or I will tear this castle down to its foundation!" In all of her life in the modern age, Arturia had never cared about anything more. After all the time she had spent as a family with Irisviel and Shirou, all she and others had done and sacrificed to make such a life possible, she could not back down now, she simply would not let herself.

Acht in turn was shaken, the most powerful of servants, the servant he had arranged to be summoned in the first place, had not only survived the war but now stood before him, poised to destroy all he had worked to carry out. Gone was the smug condescending manner he had held just movements ago. In its place stood fear, dread, and the very real possibility that he may lose this fight. There would be no more talking.

With a swift movement, Acht threw his arm forward, pointing firmly towards Arturia with his trembling arm. The homunculus standing beside him took up their master's silent plea, taking up arms against the King of Knights. Barreling down the caste's wide stairs with inhuman speed, each maid quickly took to the offensive, their target the daughter of their master. Though try to they might, none could breach the defensive line established by her beloved knight, with swift movement to close any access to her master and a flurry of strike to deflect all incoming attacks. Arturia's defense was as perfect as the situation could allow. With each stroke of her sword clashing against the cold steel wielded in each maid's hand and every blow that found home in her beloveds small frame, Irisviel's mind slowly sparked back to life. Arturia was fighting for her and for the family and life they had built together. If they were to move forward, she must be like her beloved, ever strong, steadfast, and ready to face all who challenged their happiness with ill intentions.

"Arturia!" Irisvile yelled as her consciousness finally returned. "I will be fine, do anything you need to do to finish this." Her lover's battle had become an elegant dance in which she dashed across the castle floor, deflecting any attack that threatened to fall like rain from the heaven's upon Irisviel's lithe body. Now that was longer necessary, with Irisviel back to normal she could finally go on the offensive. Holding her blade to her heart and summoning the courage of all her past and present, Arturia summoned the battle garb and unsheathed the greatest of swords, the Blade of Promised Victory known to all far and wide as Excalibur. The symbol of her hopes and dreams, of her people and nation, and of the woman she loved so dearly. By this blade all of this would come to an end. With a loud battle cry, Saber took her favored the sword to those who had assailed her, cutting down one maid in the process and breaking the blade of several more. Left nearly defenseless, Acht, still standing where he had when the battle began, stood defeated, wearing a forlorn look upon his face.

"Father," Irisviel spoke aloud. "For all you've done to my family, and all those who've died for your dream, I renounce the Einzbern name. I'll be taking my daughter and leaving now." Acht struggled to speak, grasping to issue one last command to those under his control. But there was no one left to command, the bodies of the maids that had seemed so formidable lay strewn across the floor like rag dolls, whether he would admit it or not, this fight was over. Arturia ascending the staircase before her with the stature of a king, laid her sword at the back of the fallen patriarch.

"Do not move, if you values your life that is." Arturia's face was stern, no more pain would come to her family if she could help it. Irisviel finally made way to where she had intended to go all along, opening the door to her daughter's bedroom with a gentle force as to her not wake her child. On the other side of the heavy wooden daughter lay her precious daughter, sleeping soundly as if the battle raging just outside her bedroom had never happened at all. Irisviel had wanted to scream, to throw her arms around her child and shout to the world that things were finally as they should be, but she didn't. There would be time for that later. For now, she simply walked to Illya's bedside and called gently. "Illya." She nearly sang.

"Mommy...?" Illya said wiping her eyes clean of the sandman's last visit.

"Yes, it's me." Irisviel's heart could not contain how happy she was at that moment. No words could describe it. No smile encapsulate the joy radiating through her being. "It's time to go home." She would explain everything later, for now, all that was important that Illya was safe and sound. Illya reached for her mother as if my instinct embracing her with a mighty yawn garnered from a dream interrupted. Taking the small child in her arms for the first time in months, it truly was time to go home. "You to Arturia." She called as Illya once more drifted off to sleep in her mother's arms. "Let's go." Acht did nothing to impede the happy family, there was nothing he could do. Even if he had sent every maid in the castle after them it would still not be enough. There would be time to plot later, for now all on the old man's mind was his own safety

With no further matters to attend to in the ancient halls of the Einzbern castle, Irisviel, Arturia, and their daughter Illya, who now lay sound asleep in her mother's embrace, returned to the car that had brought them to this nostalgic place. All was right in the world and everything was as it should be.


	12. Sidestory 3: Saber gets a job

Mommmmmmmmmmmmmmy!" Illya ran through the halls of the former Emiya manor in search for her mother. Her shout echoed throughout the spacious estate, ringing loudly in the ears of all within its range of influence. Since she had come home, Illya had clung to her mother's side like a barnacle to the side of a ship. Traumatized from months spent in the care of those who cared little about her, nothing could pry her away from Irisviel Von Einzbern.

"What is it, dear?" Irisviel called in return to her daughter's moaning. Irisviel had sad in the manor's living room, quietly cleaning the immense mess strewn about ground during the earlier night's dinner. Though she loved her children more than anything in the world, being a mother without the benifet of a small army of maids was taking its toll on the eldest daughter of the Einzbern family. Letting out a mild sigh, she silently braced herself for her whatever triviality her daughter had gotten herself into this time.

"Shirou took my teddy bear!" Illya yelled as she buried her tear stain face in her mother's chest. Irisviel in turn patted her daughter on the head, reassuring her that everything would be just fine.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to upset you, we'll go talk to him and straighten everything out, ok?" Irisviel smiled wearily, she had slept little in the last week since Illya had arrived home and it was beginning to show. Between Illya and Shirou's constant bickering and the constant cleaning required in a household with two young children, there was little for sleep or anything else for that matter. Nevertheless, she was enjoying every minute of her new. Simply having her little family together once more was a blessing she would never take for granted.

"Ok..." Illya conceded, wiping away the last of her tears from her tiny eyes.

"That's a good girl, let go talk to your little brother." Irisviel took her young daughter by the hand and slowly led her out to the manor's expansive back yard. On the porch overlooking the spacious loy Shirou sat alone, looking rather sullen and clutching the teddy bear in question tightly to his chest. "Shirou, did you take Illya's teddy bear?" Irisviel asked as she and Illya sat beside the red-haired youth. Shirou slowly nodded in return. "And why did you do that?"

Quiet for a moment, Shirou soon squeaked a barely audible answer to his mother's question. " I've been lonely... Miss Pendragon's been gone a lot lately and Illya hasn't been very nice to me."

Irisviel embraced her adopted her adopted son's, taking special care to be as gentle with him as possible. "I'm sorry, I know I haven't been a very good a mother to you as of late, but I promise I'll try my best to make things better from now on." Shirou in turn nestled himself against her mother's warm form, dropping the contested plushie in the process. It had taken a bit of work to settle Illya into her new home and even more work to assimilate her into a lifestyle without a small army of maids at her beck and call. Somewhere in this process, Shirou had fallen to the wayside, lost in the shuffle of the happiness surrounding his elder sister's homecoming. Sullen from the lack of attention from those he loved most, and compounded by his new sister antagonistic advances, only now, nested so closely to his mother's beating heart, did the black cloud hovering over his daily life finally dissipate.

"I love you mama." Shirou cooed.

"I love you to, Shirou. Now lets all go back to the living room, you and Illya can help me clean up the mess you to made last night."

"Ok!" Shirou and Illya chimed in unison. Following their mother back into the house, the elder of the pair scooped up the bear that had been the genesis of this entire incident. A smile on her face, Illya was content in her imagining that she had won small battle that calm, winter, morning.

A moment later, as a mother and child made their way to the room in which much of their shared lives played out. Shirou tugged on the hem of Irisviel's light coat, demanding her immediate attention.

"What is it Shirou?"

"When will Miss Pendragon be back?"

"She'll back by dinner and hopefully she will have good news when she returns."

"Where did she go?"

"She's doing something to help all of us, but I'll let her explain that when she gets home."

* * *

><p>A dozen times she had tried and a dozen time she had failed. Each of her carefully filled out, double checked, and proofread applications had been in vain, despite the King of Knights best efforts, her seemingly endless search for a part-time job had proven futile. The reasons for rejection were many, from a lack of experience to the rather suspect nature of her identification, Arturia's quest to simply make a bit of extra money to support her newly complete family had yet to bear fruit. Frustrated and forlorn, she had come home every night of the search in a haze. This night, not wanting to pass the burden of her journey to those around her, Arturia hid her negative emotions behind a smiling mask day by day as she lay with her beloved and play with the small children she had worked so hard to give a better life. Though Shirou and Illya could not see through the front, their adoptive mother put up, Irisviel knew better. She had known Arturia the longest of any of them and could read the subtle changes in her former servant's face that belied a drastic change in her normal state of stoic happiness.<p>

"Are you all right, love?" The former eldest of child of the Einzbern clan asked.

"Nothing is wrong, milady. By morning all of this will be forgotten when I begin my quest anew." Artuia's head lay squarely against the surface of the Emiya Manor's low, dining room, table. Her forlorn eyes firmly fixed to the nearly mute television before her.

"This is about your job search, isn't it?" Arturia merely nodded in the positive in response. "I know your trying to do this on your own, but we're all here for you. If there is anything I can do to help, please, let me know."

"Those in charge of the places I have sought work from have commented upon the my lack of experience. Such a sentiment is  
>ridicules," Arturia said raising her voice to a quiet fervor of complaint. "I have led a nation of thousands, stood upon the bloodstained battlefield of a dozen conflicts, and lived through the horrors of the Holy Grail War. To say I lack experience is a poor joke at best." Irisviel crept closer to her time-displaced lover and patted her on the head, gently running her long fingers through her carefully prepared blond hair.<p>

"Perhaps it is the way you phrased those things. I doubt anyone in this age would believe that you were once the king of Britain or a knight. From what I've found out talking to Taiga-chan and her father, it would be best if you rephrased those things as something more suiting to the modern age. Maybe instead of saying you were a king you could...say that you have leadership experience and are good at working with people. You wouldn't technically be lying." Irisviel nuzzled against her forlorn lover, hoping to restore the happy state in which she typically dweller.

"I would try anything at this point, Irisviel. If you truly think such turn of phrase will enhance my chance of finding employment, I see no issue in trying it."

"Oh good! Now let's get to work while the children are still asleep. Go get that résumé of yours and I'll fetch some pencils and erasers."  
>Arturia and Irisviel stayed awake far into the wee hours of a cold March morning. Endlessly revising the wording of the precious document the King of Knights had personally devised was a trying task indeed. Filled with archaic grammar and words, odd stories of a bygone era, and other such things it was hardly a wonder that she had not been hired. With hours of revision, and more than a bit of help from Taiga's father, the newly minted resume was in order. Free of anything that may portray Arturia as odd or out of touch with reality, the official document instead painted the portrait of a woman of fierce loyalty, who was capable of leadership and hard work even in the face of immense adversity. Though much listed in printed graphite was embellished more than a but, the heart of the woman known as Arturia Pendragon shone through nonetheless.<p>

"All done!" Irisviel said, her eyes heavy from the sleepless night behind her. " Now go rest up, I imagine you'll have a full day ahead of you tomorrow." Her beloved would have nodded in triumphant agreement, had she not fallen into a deep state of slumber several minutes earlier. "Aren't you adorable?" She mused quietly as she gently covered the sleep knight with a heavy blanket. "And your working so hard for mine and the children's' sake without my even asking. You truly are a wonderful woman." Laying a gentle kiss upon her partner's sleeping cheek, Irisviel to left for bed. Ending a very long day in the gentle embrace of her soft futon.

The revised resume in hand, Arturia again challenged the world of modern employment. Scattering a paper trail across several dozen business in the general Fuyuki area, her search returned a handful of leads and willing parties. Irisviel had coached her on how to interact without seeming overbearing and had even gone as far as to buy her a new outfit for the occasion. A simple blouse and long, black, forming fitting, skirt lay upon Saber's lithe form, meant to look elegant but not flashy with any luck it would help a former king find her way in the modern world.

The day's interview was at a local family restaurant. Nervous for the first moment in quite sometime, Arturia tried to drown such feelings in her want help her family. Though Irisviel had squirreled away thousands from the Einzbern family account, they could not rely on such funds forever. Hoping to avoid the mess that had begun when Grandfather Acht had noticed the use of such funds, Arturia wished seek employment to prevent such a mess from ever happening again. Her mind and heart working as one, Saber gracefully entered restaurant, hope clinging firmly to her quickly beating heart.

"So, I can see that your foreign." The restaurant's balding manager observed as her analyzed as he sat across from his prospective employee. "What brings you all the way to Japan?"

"Though I am of British decent, I had traveled to Japan to act as a bodyguard for my client's wife. You see he was in a rather dangerous line of work and had worried those who were not particularly fond of him may target his family. Sadly he has recently passed away and, because neither I nor his wife have any other family in the area, we are living together until a resolution to the problem is found." Irisviel had drummed up such a half truth the night before as a small piece of a grand scheme. No stranger to lying in the name of the greater good, Arturia repeated her imagined past, as written by her beloved, without a hitch.

"Ah, so I imagine your working you way towards a plane ticket out of the country for you and that poor friend of yours. That is rather noble of you." The manager smiled at Arturia, her perfectly rehearsed statement working wonders upon his waking mind. "And it says here you have some leadership experience, why don't you tell me a little more about that?"

"In my line of work there were many occasions in which ot it fell upon me to take the lead to ensure the safety of those around me. I would say more, but those times were rather painful for me." Another half truth. Irisviel had rewritten Arturia's time as a knight into a brief stint in the British military, not a lie but a rather spectacular stretch of the truth.

"Sounds like you've had a rough life."

"That I have." Arturia echoed.

"Hmm, your background looks good and you speak very good Japanese for a foreigner, I guess I could start you off waiting tables. How does that sound?"

Arturia's heart skipped a beat, hear, in this small restaurant, her journey of nearly a month would finally come to an end. Though waiting tables in a small island nation thousands of miles from her home country was a marked change from her time ruling over an entire nation. The simple fact that she could give back to the household in which she had stayed without rent for months was a dream come true. "That would be wonderful" Arturia spoke, trying her best not to shout for all the world to hear.

"Great, you can start on monday of next week. Welcome aboard." The elder man offered his hand to Arturia, a seal upon her terms of employment.

"I will be sure live up to your expectations." Arturia spoke as she returned her new employers handshake.

"But you know, you're not the first foreigner to apply for a job here." The manager spoke as she once more took his seat. "There was a teenager with black hair in here earlier. If I remember right he said he was going to school in London or someplace like that. I turned him down because didn't have much experience to his name."

Saber thought for a moment. Only one boy she knew matched such a description, but he was likely long gone by now. She pleaded ignorance on this point. "I can't say I know anyone like that." Arturia lied.

"Oh well, but I will see you on Monday. Make sure you be on time and dress appropriately."

"Of course." Saber said with a smile. "I will do my best." With that Arturia left her the place she would be working in from that day forward. Filled with the warmth of being able to do good for the family she treasured so dearly, she rushed home to deliver the good news.

"You got the job! That's wonderful, Arturia!"Irisviel could not contain her joy and leapt into her partner's arms without as much as a second thought.

"It's nothing, really." Arturia struggled with the weight of the snowy-haired homunculus laying splayed across her small arms.

"Let's go tells the children, I'm sure Shirou will be so happy to see you back to your usual self." Irisviel let herself down from her lover's arms and quickly took up her hand instead. Dashing towards the kitchen with the speed of a jungle cat, nothing could contain the happiness she was fell.

"Shirrrrrrrrrrrrrou! Illyyyyyyyyyyyyyya! Miss Pendragon has something she wants to share with you!"In the living room they in which family often met, the two small children of the Pendragon household entered the room with a confused look upon their faces.

"What is it, mama?" They asked in unison.

"Come now, Arturia. Tell them the good news." Irisviel spoke as she gently poked her lover in the side.

"Well, I've finally found a place of employment. From now on I will be working at a waitress." Though Illya had largely been clinging to her birth-mother since she had arrived home several weeks ago, Shirou had taken a liking to the King of Knights since that first fateful day they truly met in the front room of the adoption agency. So like the heroes he read about before going to bed every night was Arturia, the red-haired youth couldn't help himself but like her. Enjoying every minutes of the stories she often told him and the sword practice she would sometimes let him watch and sometimes take part in, Shirou had taken a special liking to the King of Knights Upon hearing she her quest had come to a fruitful end, Shirou's heart filled with joy to have his second mother finally regain her smile.

"Good job, Miss Pendragon! I knew you could do it." Shirou spoke as she clung to the knight turned waitress. She in turned ruffled the youth's hair and beamed him a happy smile.

"Thank you, Shirou." She would have said more, but there was no need for more words than that had already been spoke.

"To celebrate, lets all get dinner out tonight. Does that sound good everyone?" As Irisviel spoke, mother and children nodded in union. "All right then, let's go." A smile on everyone's faces, the night ended on a happy note.

* * *

><p>Interlude: A small gift.<p>

Arturia entered the Emiya Manor with a tired look on her face. Her hours at the restaurant were long and the skirted uniform she wore was a bit uncomfortable. Though she would not have done such work had it not been for the well-being of her lover and children, the work had begun to grow on her. The rest of the staff was nice enough, and chatting with customers was pleasant. Just being out of the house and being able to prove her worth once more motivated Arturia to keep going, the work was hard but fulfilling and worth the effort she had put into it. Though she may have come home tired every other day, Irisviel always looked happy knowing her beloved cared enough to do this for her, her children, and no one else. A sign of the enduring strength of their love and the bond as a family, their little world was truly a happy one.

"Welcome home dear." Irisviel beamed with a smile.

"It's good to be home." Arturia spoke with a small yawn. At this point Arturia had expected an offer of a bath or dinner, as Irisviel had often did. But what came next was vastly different from their usual routine.

"Could you come to the shed with me for a moment, there is something I would like to show you." Irisviel offered no hint at what awaited them in the detached workspace behind the manor, but the smile upon her face betrayed the fact that it was nothing bad. In the formerly empty storage space stood a rather large object draped with a large, white, cloth.

"Is this what you intended to show me?" Irisivel nodded in the positive, trying her best to contain the joy overflowing her very being.

"What is it?"

"Just pull off the sheet, it's a present for working so hard for all our sakes."

"All right, if you insist."

Arturia summoned a bit of her might and quickly pulled aside the sheet. As it drifted to the concrete floor below her eyes went wide and sparkled at the sight that lay hidden beneath the heavy cloth. A mid-sized motorcycle now stood before her. A similar model to the one that had been a gift from her former master, and sadly destroyed in the battle with Berserker, the modern machine left the King of Knights breathless, to say the least.

"Why...?" She muttered in amazement at the gift that had been lay before her.

"You've done so much for me without even being asked. You've stayed by my side during that horrible fire and did everything you could to make sure Illya and Shirou were happy. You've tended to my every need even though you could have left the modern age without a second thought. I remember the look on your face when you first laid eyes on that bike Kiritsugu had sent to you. I had hoped, in some small way, that this gift would convey to you what I can't say in words."

"Irisviel..." Arturia embraced the woman she had come to care for so deeply in the past few months. "It is lovely." Her words spoke on the subject of the gift itself, while her embrace answered her loves other concerns. Irisviel sat in blissful glee for several minutes before uttering something rather astonishing.

"Since I've given you something wonderful, may I ask the same of you?" Irisviel cooed.

"Of course, anything you wish."

"May I take your last name? As You probably know I'm without one for some time now.." Irisviel giggled as her partner stood in stunned silence. "You did say I could ask for anything, after all."

"But such an act is..."

"Like asking someone to marry you? I know. That is partly why I wish to take up your name. We're already living together for a very long time now and are raising two children. We're a family in everything but name... For that reason I'd like for our names to match as well."

"I...I cannot deny such a request. On my word," Arturia lay silent for a moment, basking in the import of the decree she was about to make. "You may, take the name Pendragon as your own." Irisviel Pendragon... Arturia went over the name several times in her mind. Though it sounded odd at first, there was a certain charm to it. It was another level on which she would be connected to the one she loved most.

"I imagine Shirou will have to call you by your first name now." Irisviel giggled. "Seeing as we're both technically Miss Pendragon now." Irisviel spoke in the seductively cute way that had ruffled Arturia's feathers so many times in the past.

"I imagine so." Arturia said with a light blush on her pale cheeks. "I imagine so."

"But that's enough for now," Irisviel smiled. "Dinner and the children are waiting."

"Let's not keep them waiting then" Arturia said, taking her lover's hand.


	13. Magus

The Princess' Knight  
>Final Chapter:<br>Magus  
>Wind whipped around her as she sped down the high way at breakneck speeds. It was a feeling freedom, of being bound by nothing but her own accord. It was a feeling she had missed dearly since the gift from her former master was destroyed by a run-in with a half insane knight of the Round Table. Briefly turning her head to survey the world around her, everything appeared as a blur of colors and light that blended into a Technicolor mess that elated her senses and fueled the euphoric thinking that coursed through her body, mind, and soul. Nothing could ruin the pure and simple joy that had overtaken the King of Knights. Though such emotions seemed to spring eternal, Arturia's ride was soon to come to an end. Coursing over a steep hill, the Emiya manor came into full view, prompting an end to her journey.<p>

Pulling into the garage that housed, among other things, the high-end car handed down to Irisivel by her dearly departed husband, Arturia parked her beloved motorcycle in its usual spot. Dismounting the vehicle with a small sigh, she returned to the place she now called home. The end of a ride always brought a small amount of sorrow to her lips, but being greeted by the woman she loved and the two small children that called her mother was a balm that could cure all aliments in an instant.

"I'm home," Arturia smirked as she tucked her riding helmet firmly under her right arm.

"Welcome home, dear." Irisviel beamed from a seated place among her children at the manor's dining room table. "Did you have a good time?"

"I always do, Irisviel." Saber took a seat besides Shirou at the table and ruffled the youth's red hair. Though she loved both her children equally, Shirou had taken to the King of Knights like a fish to water. Whether practicing swordplay in the early morning or sitting besides her while she whiled away the hours maintaining her favored mode of transportation, there was little that was not made just a little more enjoyable by having Shirou sitting at her side, asking silly questions or doing his best to emulate her every action.

"That is good to hear," Irisviel turned to Arturia and spoke in a gentle way. "Could you look after the kids while I finish dinner?"

"Of coarse Because of Arturia's work and her own role as a stay-at-home mom, it was a rare for Irisviel to leave Shirou and Illya in her partner's care, but should the need arise, as it did in the current moment, Arturia was a capable babysitter as any. "Would you like to help me work on my bike?" She directed at Shirou and Illya with a smile. Shirou beamed, it had been ages since he had been invited into the sacred space that was his mother's workshop.

"Really?" Saber nodded, launching Shirou into a joyous smiles and laughter. His sister's reaction was just the opposite, a mixture of pouting and frowns directed firmly at the same event that brought her brother such happiness.

"You don't want to come along, Illya?"

"No! I'm going to stay here with my mommy." Just as Shirou had taken to Arturia, Illya had refused to do the same. Firmly clinging to her birth mother after the long months they had spent apart, there was little that could be done to pry her from Irisviel's side without much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

"I'm your mommy to, Illya." Arturia gently reminded her snowy-haired daughter.  
>"No you're not!" Illya yelled, throwing her arms into the air. Arturia sighed. There was little use fighting her daughter when she was in a mood like this. Best to let it go before it grew into a big to do.<p>

"If you do not wish to go, perhaps you could help your mother with dinner?" Illya left without another word, joining Irisviel in the last stages of preparation for the night's meal. Someday she would win this child over, Arturia swore silently, but she also knew when to pick her battles. Perhaps another day, but for now another needed her attention.

"Shall we go, Shirou?"

"Ok!" As Shirou took Arturia's waiting hand, the pair made haste for the small corner of the garage that Arturia's favorite toy called home.

* * *

><p>Though her bike was in fine shape, one could never be to careful when dealing with such a machine, the smallest of problems could easily result in broken bones or worse. Scanning every inch of the vehicle before her, Arturia could find no fault with her beloved vehicle. But, for the sake of the excited young boy looking on in awe and anxiously waiting for his mother to do something splendid. Which, in Shirou's young mind, was anything and everything. Not wanting to disappoint her biggest, fan Arturia handed the boy a few tools to play with. As nothing was wrong with her bike there was little chance Shirou could do any real harm.<p>

"Can I!" Shirou said with a sparkle in his eyes.

"You've been well-behaved as of late, so I don't see why not." Shirou cheered to the heavens before picking a tool and random and tapping it against the pitch-black surface of his mother's motorcycle. As metal met metal a loud clang rang out through the garage, echoing throughout the small structure. Doing her best to stifle her laughter at the sight, Arturia held one hand against the surface of her lips. "That doesn't seem to be working, perhaps you should try another one?" She joked.

" Ok!" Putting down one tool and replacing it with another, Shirou resumed his work. Combing his target for several minutes, tapping the screwdriver in his hand against its surface in a steady rhythm as he went. "Like this?" He questioned.

"That's very good," Arturia said with a smile. "Your being very thorough, just a little more and I imagine there won't be any problems with it."

"But what about all the stuff on the inside, should not I fix that to?" Shirou said as he tapped his free hand against vehicle beside him for emphasis.

"I cannot let you work with that just yet, it is dangerous for children and I do not want you to get hurt."

"But I can see the insides! So it wouldn't be dangerous at all." Shirou stuck out his chest in confident protest.

"You...Can see the insides?" She was stunned. Shirou's claim sounded like complete nonsense, yet, to most people, so would many other things that had happened to her personally. That in mind, she could not simply dismiss Shirou's claim, no matter how silly it may sound.

When I think really hard," He explained with a completely straight face. "I can see the insides of things in my head."

"Have you been able to do this for long?"

"I dunno..."

"All right then," Arturia said as she rose from her seated position. "I'm going to talk to Irisviel for a moment. Please wait here until I return."

"I'm not in trouble am I?" Tears formed in the corner of the small child's eye.

"Of course not." Arturia spoke softly and gently as not to upset Shirou further and wiping the tears from his eyes for good measure. "I simply have to ask her something important."

"Ok..."

"That's a good boy, I will see you soon." Arturia left her son with a smile, hoping silently that nothing terrible would come of all this.

"Can we talk for a moment, Irisviel?" Arturia spoke in a solemn manner.

"Is something wrong? You sound so serious." Irisviel chimed, abandoning the kitchen stove in favor of headier maters.

"It's not a problem or anything, but he is claiming to be able to see the internal structure of machines via intense concentration. I do not wish to alarm you, but he may have a talent for magic." Irisviel's heart skipped a beat while a powerful gasp escaped her unadorned lips, such was the shock of learning the poor child she loved so much was capable of the art that had brought them all so much despair.

Silent for a moment, Irisviel draws heavy breath. Contemplating the ramifications of this new development. The Grail War, her husband's death, and Shirou being made an orphan. All were the result of misuse of such a powerful force. It would be best to keep him as far away from the entire concept of magecraft if possible. Yes, she thought, that would be the best answer for all this.

Taking one last deep breath, Irisviel voices her mind in a way clear as crystal. "I'll take care of this, I am the only magus in this family and I will make it my responsibility to tell Shirou all that he needs to know on the subject."

"As you wish, milady, shall I send Shirou to you now?"

"No, let's wait till after dinner. I do not imagine this is something either of us would like to discuss on an empty stomach.

* * *

><p>Dinner passed without event, save for the fact that Shirou lay silent for the entire time. Normally a free-spirited and aggressive boy, even at the dinner table, he instead sat silently beside Arturia dreading the moment the meal would end and his talk with his snowy-haired parent would begin. Despite eating as slowly as possible, as if to stave off the dreaded confrontation forever, dinner soon ended. Leaving Arturia and Illya to clean up while the other half of the family left to sit outside under the city's starlit night.<p>

Sitting on the manor's back porch as they often did, Irisviel and Shirou sat in silence for a moment. Both just not sure how to begin this most awkward of conversations. Then, suddenly, an idea struck Irisviel."What do you know about magic?" Irisviel said, finally taking the initiative in breaking the bubble of silence surrounding the best of them. It was a simple question, but one that addressed the need of the current moment well.

"It's the stuff wizards and witches use in fairy tales, comics, and in movies, right? And it can basically do anything you want it to do!" Shirou spoke in an excited way. "But that is all make-believe."

"Now that's not entirely true, Shirou. Magic does exist, it's just not as convenient as it is in fiction. Most magic-users can only use a few types of magic, and it takes years of training to do it right." Free of the shock and tension that had stalked her mind on hearing of Shirou's mystical aptitude, Irisviel was free to be her usual goofy and carefree self.

"Really?" Shirou's eyes sparkled.

"Mhm, your mom over here is a very accomplished magus -that's what we call real people who can use magic- and I think you maybe able to use it to." Shirou sat in stunned silence. Many a child the world over dreamed of magic's existence or even being able to use it themselves, but, to see it in person, nothing could prepare his young mind for such a truth.

"Can you please, maybe, show me your magic?" Shirou said in a low tone, still in shock of his mother's revelation.

"I thought you had ask that," Irisviel winked with a smile. Rummaging through the pockets of her long jacket she withdrew a nearly invisible length of string. Focusing on it, she weaves the string through the air, careful shaping it a star, heart, and even the grand bird she had used in combat months earlier. Shirou once more sat in awe of his mother's prowess and even gave a small round of clapping when all was said in done. "See?" She said tucking away her magical focus. "That's my specialty. I think yours, based on what Miss Pendragons told me, is the ability to see the inside things with your mind." That was the final blow to Shirou's already reeling mind, the simple skill he thought nothing of was magic! He was a magus, just like his mother! So many wonderful things swirling in his mind, Shirou could barely find room, or time, to speak through it all.

"Can you teach me to use my magic? Please! I will be good all the time and do all my chores every day!" Irisviel chucked, but soon realized that was something she could not let herself do.

"I'm sorry, Shirou" She said as she patted her child on the head in a consoling way. "Magic can be very dangerous and a long time ago it took away the life of someone very close to me. Therefore, I cannot teach you magic. You can understand why, right Shirou?" Shirou's heart fell into the lower recesses of his stomach, killing any enthusiasm he had felt just moments before. He may have known Irisviel for a short while in the grand scheme of things, but he knew all to well it was nearly impossible to change her mind once it was set on something. He nodded in the positive, acknowledging his mother's wish.

"I think I understand."

"That's a good boy!" Irisviel squealed, her previously somber tone dissipating like morning mist as she embraced Shirou in a tight hug. "But I did talk to Miss Pendragon and she said that, if you wanted, she would teach you how to use a sword. I know that you're always watching her in the dojo in the morning, and it will be much safer than learning to use magic. How does that sound?" Shirou smiled, showing his approval for the idea. "And never forget, I will always love you. No matter what."

"I love you to, mommy."


	14. Side Story 4: Teach me Pendragon Sensei!

The Einzbern/Pendragon Consultation Room [Emiya Manor version 2.0]

A legendary realm where wandering souls gather for guidance and information, an Avalon for wanders searching for a guidepost in the vast darkness of the universe, such was the basis of the legendary wandering classroom known as the Einzbern Consultation Room. Formally located in a spacious and elegant side room of the Einzbern Caste [Japanese annex], for budget reasons, the legendary home for the lost had moved into the spare bedroom of the Emiya manor located in the old district of lovely Fuyuki City. Even in these dark days, the consultation room remains ever vigilant in it's mission to shepard those who seek it's guidance back to the path of light and righteousness, headed by Irisivel Von Einzbern and her loyal side-kick Zecchan a new legend is forged with love and justice! The Einzbern Consultation Room begins now!

"Welcome back everyone to our little room where all your hearts maybe set at ease and a new direction forged into the uncertain future." Irisviel spoke to no one in particular. Dressed in her ever present pink and white kimono with a ribbon tying back her long, snow-white hair, into a trailing ponytail, the eldest daughter of the Einzbern family dressed for success in her role as "Sensei" and guide to poor lost souls.

"Hello again!" Her high-school aged companion chimed in, dressed in her usual bloomers and track jacket. "Do we have any guests today?"

"Sadly we don't Zecchan. Between Arturia being working and taking care of the children, I simply haven't had time to arrange for anyone to visit us today." Irisviel spoke with a light sigh

"I'm sorry Sensei... But, does that mean we're going to cancel today's consultation?" Her assistant asked with a long face.

"Fear not, my faithful Zecchan! Here in the Emiya Manor we always have a backup plan stowed away for just such circumstances as these." Irisviel shouted, her words ablaze with righteous consultation-based justice. Leaving the cramped corners of her bedroom for a moment, Irisviel soon returns bearing a small bag overflowing with envelopes.

"What's that, Sensei?"

"It's our mailbag, the container in which those seeking help convey their needs in written form!" Irisviel emptied the bag, sending dozens of white envelopes scattering across the bedroom floor. "Just pick one and we'll be on our way."

"All right, Sensei! I'll do my best." Picking one plain letter from among the sea of white now spread across the bedroom's tatami matted floor, Zecchan set about carrying out her Sensei's command opening, and then reading aloud its contents.

"_Dear Sensei,_

_ Me and my girlfriend have been together for a few months now but she never seems to want to do anything intimate together. Everything else in our relationship is perfect, but I'm just not sure what to do about this. Please help me!"_

Irisviel stood in silent contemplation for a minute or so, formulating a response to her loyal followers cry for help. "Well, dear student, I'm afraid I've never had that problem, but I can relate a story that may help! How does that sound Zecchan?"

"Go for it Sensei!" Zecchan cheered, thrusting one closed fist towards the heavens.

"All right then, this all happened many months ago, before Illya and Shirou completed our little family..." Irisviel's voice trailed off as she began her self-indulgent flash-back.

* * *

><p>"Arturiaaaaaaaaaaaa, I'm home and I brought the stuff you wanted for tonight!" Irisviel entered the Emiya manor, kicking her shoes against the wall in a fit of extreme giddiness.<p>

"Oh? Very good, may I see what you've brought?" The King of Knights had learned, several times by then, that it was not wise to trust Irisviel's judgment when she was excited about something. Several times she had asked her beloved to bring back some manner of food or other item only for her to return with something else entirely. For that reason, it was wise to double check any request made of the Einzbern homunculus.

"All right!" Irisviel emptied her shopping back onto the dining room table, spilling snacks, a rented VHS tape, and a box of condoms.

"Irisviel..." Arturia spoke in a flat, almost annoyed tone. "Why did you bring home those?" She leveled a heavy finger against the condom box.

"I thought we were going to do _that _later..." Irisviel blushed profusely, a act especially noticeable against the backdrop of her pale skin.

"We shall, but please think for a moment, milady, we are both women. Why would there be need for such things?"

"I guess there wouldn't be since neither of us have a penis." Irisviel pouted for a moment. Though such words brought back memories of a very strange time in her life the front of Arturia's mind, she dare not speak them for risk of looking like a fool in front the woman she loved most.

"Exactly, just let me guide you through things and I'm sure everything will work out for the best." Irisviel smiled, her beloved servant-turned-lover always knew just what to say.

The rest of the night, though more then a bit awkward at times, passed without incident.

* * *

><p>"So you see, dear student, if you just sit down, talk to her, and walk her through exactly what you want to do. I'm sure things will work out for the best." Irisviel's explanation, for once in her short life, was concise and too the point. "Now that all of that is out of the way, let's move onto the next letter, Zecchan!"<p>

"All right, Sensei!" Rummaging once more through the seemingly bottomless mailbag, assistant student zero withdrew a rather odd looking letter from among the hundreds residing in Iri's bag. Tucked within a pitch black envelope and encrusted in something resembling a rather sinister variety of mud, the letter in question oozed of malice and bad intentions. "Um, I'm not sure we should answer this one Sensei..." Zecchan hesitantly spoke, holding the vile letter as far away from her person as possible.

"Don't be silly, we're here to provide guidance to all who are strong enough to ask for it. So please, could you please read the letter?"

"All right, if you say so..." Unfolding the offending envelope revealed a rather normal look letter written upon the letterhead of what appeared to be a church of some kind.

"_Dear "Sensei",_

_The girl I've been after for awhile now has rejected all of my advances no matter how hard I try. I've offered her all the worlds riches and more yet she still refuses to become mine. I guess my question is how can I make this silly girl like me? I'm charming, rich, and oozing with style and confidence, so I fail to see what I'm doing wrong!"_

"Sensei, I think this guy is just a huge, self-absorbed, jerk. Can we just ignore him and move on?" Zecchan let out a small sigh, slightly annoyed by the whole matter.

"I'm sorry, Zecchan, but if this poor soul took the time to send us a letter the least we can do is answer his question." Irisviel thought for a moment, formulating a answer to the question that wouldn't sound overtly judgemental. "Well, as you mentioned previously my dear assistant, this man seems to have issues simply because he is far to invested in himself. No matter how rich or good looking he maybe, no girl wants a man who values himself more then her. So my advice to him is to try to tone down those parts of his personality or find a girl who will date a man like him."

"I will remember that Sensei and avoid men like him in the future!"

"Very good, Zecchan. I hope you will carry that lesson in your heart from now on. Now, shall we answer one more question before we call it quits for the day?"

"Let's do it!" Once more into the bag Zecchan's hand went and once more did she pull out a piece of mail from some forlorn soul longing for guidance in a lonely world. She then proceeded to read the letters content aloud.

_ "Irisviel, _

_I'll be a bit late getting home tonight, please tell Shirou that I won't be able to play with him. I'll see you when I get home, and I'll be looking forward to "playing" with you tonight."_

_ Love, _

_ Arturia."_

Irisviel's ran blank for a moment as she starred in the infinite abyss of embarrassment that had been opened beneath her very feet. Unable to speak nor move, she simply stares upon nothingness while her face burns a deep crimson.

"You ok, Sensei?" Zecchan asked, waving her hand in front of Irisviel's face to make sure she hadn't died of shock.

"Yes, yes I am." Irisviel said in a vacant manner as she quickly snatched the offending letter from her assistant's hand.

"Um, I guess since Sensei seems to be broken at the moment, that's it for today. See everyone next time!"

* * *

><p>Well, I know the story is over but this is something I wrote as a gift to you all for getting this little fic of mine to 20,000 hits. There is one more side-story coming, so I hope you all will come back and read it once its done!<p> 


	15. Side story 5: Brother and Sister

Scenes from the Pendragon household

The snowy-haired girl sat on the school's room, her small body trembling as a cold wind nipped at her exposed legs. She came here often to get away from the pain of day-to-day life. Many made fun of her for her small stature, her bright red eyes, or simply for the fact that she was foreign. And it was here that she often cried her for hours on end as she waited for her beloved brother to appear and make everything better.

"Shirou..." Illya whispered to the cold winter sky. Her life hadn't always been like this. When she was younger, and before her illness came to the surface, she was just another small girl with many friends and not a care in the world. But as time went on her friends grew up; and she didn't. Forever trapped in the body of a twelve-year-old she had become isolated from those around her. Unable to adapt to the constant teasing, she had come to rely on her younger brother to protect her. "Please help me."

The school bell rang, echoing throughout the structure the end of yet another day of class. Finally free of his other obligations, Shirou made his way to the place his sibling almost always came in case of teasing or harassment. Running as fast as his feet would take him, ascending the sole staircase to the roof he soon found his sibling in her usual spot. Her clothing stained with tears and her eyes even more red the usual.

"Illya... What happened this time?" Kneeling before his small sister with a gentle smile Shirou wiped the remaining tears from Illya's eyes.

"They were making fun of me again." Illya sniffled.

"Just because your short or foreign doesn't mean anything is wrong with you, you know that." Shirou ruffled Illya's hair.

"I know, it's just hard sometimes." Illya gave a small smile through the mussed hair resting on the surface of her crimson eyes.

"I know you're a strong girl, I mean you never let me win an argument a home no matter how silly it is! If you can just show those bullies that side of yourself I'm sure they'll leave you alone. Can you do that for me, Illya?" Shirou laughed. Even when it came down to who got the last roll at dinner, Illya fought as if her life depended on it.

Illya nodded, she loved her younger brother more than any in the entire world, save for her mothers of course, and could never let him down no matter how hard she would have to work to do so. "I'll try my best, Onii-chan. But you have to give me something if I do."

"And what do you want, Illya?" Shirou asked with a grin.

Illya crept forward and placed her mouth, with one had cupped around I, to her brother's ear and whispered something of great import.

"Is that all?"

Illya nodded with a smile that all the sadness of the day was finally gone from her waking mind.

"All right, just stand up for yourself from now on, OK?" It was a strange request, to say the least. But if it was what his sister desired, it was a request he simply could not ignore.

"If you think I can do it, Onii-chan, then I know I can do it to!" Illya nearly cheered.

"Good, let's go home then, I'm sure mom has dinner ready by now and she'll be worried if we stay out any longer."

* * *

><p>Some notes.<p>

This chapter takes place a few years after the last chapter of Princess' Knight and is something of a trail run of me writing older!Shirou & Illya.

Moving on; I'm happy to announce that the sequel to Princess' Knight is in production. I hope you all will look forward to that!


End file.
